Deliver Us
by proudmarveltrash
Summary: "The second shell hits, but it doesn't go off. It just sits there in the rubble, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word..." "Stark." "We were trapped for two days. But we were not alone. Maia came to us," Pietro says, running his knuckles down the third enhanced's cheek. "We have not left each other ever since." Pietro/OC *spoilers in reviews*
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It is said that traumatic experiences bond people. This proved all too true in the case of Pietro, Wanda, and Maia.

Maia Dimitrov was never a special girl. She grew up as many other children did in her country- inside a small, bland apartment complex surrounded by noisy neighbors that she rarely interacted with. In fact, there was only one other family she _did_ interact with, and it wasn't under the best of circumstances.

Maia met the Maximoff twins on what was arguably the worst day of her life. It began as a normal day. She had woken up, gone to school, come home, done her chores, and helped her Mama cook dinner. It wasn't a luxurious life, but it was hers and she was happy enough to live it.

When Maia sat down to dinner with her parents that night, she never expected the walls to suddenly cave in under the weight of a great explosion. Instantly, she is separated from her parents. "Mama!" she screams, coughing through the dust in the air. "Papa!"

Explosions go off one by one, and soon she realizes that if she doesn't move soon she will be buried underneath the rubble. It's a monumental decision for a nine year old girl to make, but after minutes of screaming with no response, Maia runs out of her apartment. She runs down one flight of stairs only to discover that the next is demolished.

More screaming, except this time, it doesn't come from Maia. It's coming from a room down the hall. She follows the sound, and enters an unfamiliar room. "Hello?"

"In here! Please, help!" Maia follows the sound of the girl's voice, and sees something no young child should ever have to see. In the living room of the apartment she had entered were two mangled bodies, a man and a woman. Maia recognized them as the Maximoff parents- they had been friends of her own parents. The yelling must be coming from their children, then.

Maia ignored the corpses as best she could, maneuvering through the apartment until she reached the source of the cries. She walked into the bedroom and saw the twins huddled together underneath one of the beds in the room. She almost asks why they aren't moving, but then she sees it and stops moving herself.

On the floor, much too close for comfort, she sees an unexploded missile. "Careful," the boy warns her, and even though she did not need the warning, she appreciates it.

What are three children supposed to do in this situation? Maia was too afraid to move for fear of shifting the fragile rubble around her and detonating the explosive. The twins refused to move out from under the bed, and she couldn't very well blame them for their fear either. So very, very carefully, she sat on the ground and said the only thing she could think of- whispering, for fear that even a too-loud noise could set the bomb off.

"My name is Maia."

The twins watched her oddly for a moment- the boy being the first to speak. "I am Pietro."

"Hello, Pietro."

"My name is Wanda."

"Hello, Wanda."

Maia probably could have left, but she didn't. If the twins were to be trapped until help arrived, she would wait with them. And she did- for two days.

When help finally came, she refused to leave until Pietro and Wanda were safely out from under the bed and out of the bedroom. Only then did she follow them out.

The three never separated again.


	2. One

_lyubovka: Russian for 'my love'_

* * *

 **One**

Twelve years after the incident that brought us together, the twins and I were still inseparable. We didn't have families outside of each other, so we all looked after one another. Pietro was protective of Wanda and I, Wanda was protective of Pietro and I, I was protective of Pietro and Wanda. We had no leader, no followers. We loved each other, and we were willing to do anything to protect each other. Die, kill- whatever was necessary.

Another thing we all agreed to protect was our country. Sokovia was our home, no matter how demented a place it had grown to be over the years, and we were all part of the riots demanding justice. We marched through the ruined streets, never leaving one another's sides, always in contact. Pietro stood between Wanda and I, holding our hands while we threw our free ones accusingly at the police who were attempting to break up the crowds.

It was during these riots when we were approached by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.

He came with promises of freeing our home, freeing the citizens. He came with promises that we would be made better. Many volunteered to go with him, including myself and the twins.

We went with him to his facility on the outskirts of the city, along with the dozens of other volunteers. When we were told we would need to separate for the procedures, I turned to Pietro for guidance. Although we had officially agreed that we would make decisions as a family, Wanda and I tended to look to Pietro in situations like these.

"Lyubovka?" I asked, using my pet name for Pietro. He smiled down at me, running his knuckles along my cheek. He was always wonderful at keeping me calm.

"We will not be apart long," he promised. Wanda and I nodded. Pietro had never lied to us before. We had no reason to not trust him now. Wanda hugged her brother first, then me, and was the first to be led away. Pietro turned to me and took my hands in his, kissing my forehead. "All is well."

This was our own personal assurance for each other that we were all right, that there was no danger. I nodded and squeezed his hands in mine before allowing two men to escort me to a different room from my family.

Once I was inside a testing room, they strapped me down to a table. "Just a precaution," one of the men assured me. It was not very assuring that they considered locking me up a precaution. I wasn't completely sure how letting them experiment on me would help Sokovia, but I also knew that I would do anything to help my people.

I had expected needles, vials, pills. What I did not expect was for them to bring in a golden scepter with a glowing blue gem. "Hold very still."

It was impossible. Once they shot me with the blue energy, I couldn't control the resulting seizures. Very distantly I could hear the sound of a woman screaming, and it took longer than it should have to register that the sound was coming from me.

It took what felt like days for me to calm down. Once I did, four men were standing around me, asking me what felt different, telling me to show them what I could do. Nothing was happening. I don't know what they expected, but whatever it was, it didn't come.

The men around me were upset, talking about yet another failure. They were all about to leave the room, leave me alone and in pain. I couldn't let that happen.

As soon as I thought it, two of the men froze in their tracks. The other two looked at them questioningly. They told them to follow, to leave me. They still didn't move.

It was then that they realized it was me keeping them there. Not a failure, apparently.

I was immediately moved from the tiny room to a large lab where I saw Strucker working with at least a dozen other scientists, all centered around the scepter. On my left I saw something that made my blood boil. Pietro and Wanda were separated from each other- from me- inside of two glass cages. They had been changed from the clothes we came in into gray sweats.

Wanda looked scared, staring at children's building blocks intently. Pietro looked like he was losing his mind, clutching his hair and pressed into the corner of the room. "Why have you locked them away?" I demanded, glaring at Strucker. "You are meant to help us!"

"I am helping," he smiled at me. "This is what you signed up for. You will understand in time."

With one nod from Strucker, the men who had brought me to the room just as quickly took me away. I was taken even further from my family, and for this reason I did not realize that they were taking me to a room where I would meet the same fate as them. I was given the same gray clothing and told to change. When I did, they checked me to make sure I had no personal possessions.

When they were satisfied, I was taken back to lab and led into a similar glass cage to the right of Wanda. What I had seen as a window was apparently one-way because once I was in the room, I could no longer see the lab. Inside the room was nothing but a cot.

This is where I would spend the majority of the next three years. Growing, becoming stronger. I saw Wanda and Pietro for only a few hours every day, but we cherished those hours as if they were our last. Every day, Pietro would whisper promises of freedom to us. Any other person I would have called a fool, but I knew that he spoke the truth.

These men who promised to help us may keep us prisoner, but what they did not know was that they could only keep us as long as we allowed it. Every day we grew better, faster, stronger. And one day soon enough, we would turn their experiments back on them and make our escape. We would do what we set out to do.

We would save our home, and seek our revenge on the man who ruined it in the first place.

Stark.


	3. Two

**Two**

I sat in my cell, ripping threads from the frayed edges of the pillowcase, attempting to relieve my boredom until I was allowed to see Pietro and Wanda again. My only sources of entertainment in this dreadful place were the twins and pranking the guards whenever the opportunity presented itself. Wanda warned me that it was dangerous, but I had yet to be caught. They may have their suspicions, but they could never prove that the sudden muscle twitches or inconsolable itches were caused by me. Even if they did, I could simply claim it was a practice session gone wrong.

While I sat further ruining the fabric of my pillowcase, annoyingly loud alarms suddenly sounded as the building shook. I was barely standing from the bed before my door was flung open to reveal a guard standing there. "Come with me."

Acclimatized to the general rude behavior of every employee here, I simply followed after the man as he led me through the plain concrete corridors. Whatever had caused the explosion, it was certainly causing a stir. Every scientist, engineer and hired soldier was scrambling about the base yelling nonsense about deleting files and covering their tracks.

I didn't bother to ask what was happening until I reached my destination- none of these people would have answered anyway. Standing off to the side were the twins, huddled together and watching the proceedings in front of them. I abandoned my chaperone to walk up to them, sighing in relief that they were unharmed. It was a silly fear, but a deep-rooted one all the same. One I knew we shared by the expressions on their faces when they saw me walking up to them.

Wanda took my hand in hers, which I squeezed gratefully, and Pietro rested the hand he didn't have around Wanda's waist on the small of my back. There was rarely a time the three of us weren't in contact- constantly assuring ourselves that we were safe. As long as we were together, nothing could harm us. "What's happening?"

"It is the Avengers," Wanda answered with a scowl. "They have come to take the scepter."

The Avengers. The twins and I held the same simple opinion of the group- idiots. Every war they have had to fight has been one they have caused on their own. It seems they were willing to start yet another.

Dr. List, Strucker's right hand man, entered the room then and walked straight up to the Baron. "We should send the little family out. It's what they signed up for."

"My men can hold them," Strucker insisted, turning his back on List and continuing his work on the computers.

List persisted his attempts to release us, but we were no longer eavesdropping, instead turning to each other. We didn't need their permission to fight. One look between the three of us was enough to agree on this fact, and it was wordlessly decided that we would do just so.

"You stay here and guard the scepter," I told Wanda. She nodded and slipped into the shadows, away from the prying eyes of any who might wonder where she had gone. As I watched her disappear, I felt myself being lifted into the air. In the blink of an eye, I was in the snow covered forest outside.

Pietro set me down, moving his hands from under me to cradle my cheeks and stare down at me. "You will stay safe." It wasn't a question.

I returned the gesture, smiling reassuringly and placing my hands over his. "All is well, Lyubovka. Worry about yourself." He nodded, and I turned my head to kiss the palm of his hand before stepping back and nodding towards the woods. He understood the signal and dashed into the forest, gone before I saw the direction he was headed.

"Finally some freedom." I smiled to myself and walked further into the forest, following the sounds of battle.

I felt them before I saw them. I could feel the buzzing of every nerve in their bodies, mapped out just under the skin and whizzing frantically as they fought the Baron's soldiers. The fascinating thing about the nervous system is that it's the same in almost every living thing- even non-living things occasionally- which meant it was nearly impossible for me to meet somebody able to resist my power.

The first people I met were two men, one in red white and blue, and the other wearing a cape. Captain America and Thor. I watched Thor swing his hammer for a moment, intrigued. Apparently only those worthy could lift it. But what about manipulating one who was worthy?

I flexed my fingers out in front of me, focusing easily on the nerve endings trailing down his arms, and Thor froze mid-swing. When the Captain saw that his friend was unable to move, he scanned the area with his eyes. He saw me smirking from my spot only a few feet away from them, but before he could move I twitched my hand to the left, causing Thor's arm holding the hammer to swing at him.

The Captain flew back until he crashed into a tree, and I couldn't help but laugh. That truly was one mighty hammer. "Does this mean I am worthy?" I called out to Thor, who was very visibly trying to struggle against my grip. He could struggle all he wanted- his body wasn't going to listen.

An unnatural gust of wind alerted me to a new presence behind me, but I didn't have to turn to see who it was. As if the amazing speed wasn't enough to know, strong arms wrapped around my middle, pulling me back into his chest. "Having fun?"

"More than I have had in years." Captain America was standing from his spot on the ground, and I considered forcing him back down, but the effort it took to control more than one person at a time was exhausting, and I didn't see the need for it at the moment. "We should return to Wanda."

"For you?" Pietro swept me up into his arms, and I dropped the hand controlling Thor to wrap my arms around his neck. "Anything."

I am sure the god came after us, but nobody could catch up to Pietro if he didn't want them to. As much as I may hate Strucker for keeping me and my family locked up, I thanked him every day for giving us these gifts. Without them, we would most likely still be rioting street urchins. But with them, I took down two Avengers in mere seconds with nothing more than a flick of my wrist.

We dashed back to the base, and I was somewhat surprised to see it abandoned. It made sense that Strucker would want to run from the Avengers, but I had expected him to hold out a bit longer than he did. Always a disappointment, that man.

I saw Wanda hiding behind a pillar and nudged Pietro, pointing at her. He set me down but kept us connected by holding my hand firmly in his as we walked up behind her. When we were at her side I could see what she was watching.

A man was standing in front of the scepter used to give us our powers, staring intently at it. I didn't recognize him until a red metal glove appeared out of seemingly nowhere, attaching itself to his hand.

Tony Stark.

I wanted to run forward and inflict the worst pain I could imagine on him, but I was held back by Pietro's hand on mine. I looked up to him, practically begging with my eyes. I could see that he held the same hatred for the man, but he shook his head and looked pointedly at Wanda. She was grinning widely at the man, looking more joyful than I had seen her in a long time.

I couldn't understand why seeing him brought her such happiness, but I knew by now to trust her. Out of the three of us, she was by far the most grounded. So I held myself back, simply watching as Stark grabbed the scepter from its stand and walked out of the warehouse. "We are just going to let him take it?" I clarified, looking back and forth between the twins.

Neither replied, and when the building shook again Pietro pulled Wanda and I closer to him. "We should go." He had to practically drag his sister, but the three of us left our temporary home behind, determined to find a new one soon. We had trained. We were better, faster, stronger.

And now we had a reason to be.


	4. Three

_sestreka: Russian for 'my sister'_

* * *

 **Three**

The sun was dipping low behind the horizon when we finally found a hotel we thought was far enough away from the facility we'd escaped from. We didn't have any money, but this would not be a problem. As soon as we reached the front desk, Wanda lifted her hand and twirled her fingers, the eyes of the woman working the front desk morphing from brown to red. Once she was completely relaxed, Pietro moved behind the counter and grabbed a room key. Wanda didn't release her hold on the woman's mind until Pietro had his arm wrapped securely around us and we bolted down the hallway.

As quick as always, we had reached our destination and Pietro opened the door for us with a smile. "Ladies first." He held his hands out towards the room.

Wanda and I both rolled our eyes at his antics, but when she moved into the room I stood on the tips of my toes and pecked his cheek before following. He may be silly even in times you would think he shouldn't be, but it was a large part of his charm.

"We should all get some rest," Wanda suggested, already pulling the blankets down from one of the two twin beds in the room. "Now that the Avengers have seen us, they will not likely leave us be. We should be ready for them when they come."

"You have always been the sensible one, sestreka." I smiled at Wanda, following her lead with the second bed. "I will admit that sleeping somewhere other than a concrete prison does sound inviting."

"You two rest," Pietro agreed, sitting at the end of Wanda's bed. "I will stay awake, just in case." He didn't have to explain in case of what. It was obvious to us all that any number of things could go wrong in such an unguarded place. One of us staying awake would be safer for all of us.

Still, I was not comfortable with the idea of Pietro staying awake all night by himself. "You deserve sleep just as much as much as the two of us," I motioned between Wanda and myself. "We will take turns. You should not have to stay awake all night, it is not healthy."

"I agree," Wanda nodded. Pietro looked between the two of us before shaking his head with a chuckle.

"How can I argue with my girls?" He stood from the bed and kissed Wanda's forehead before walking over to the bed I had unmade, repeating the action with me. "I will stay awake first, then. Get some sleep. I will wake you in a few hours."

I placed my hand on his cheek affectionately, running my thumb across it with a smile before nodding and climbing into bed. I pulled the covers up to my chin and curled into a little ball, relishing in the comfort I had never felt in the small metal beds I was used to sleeping in. Before I even saw Wanda lay down, I was sleeping.

* * *

I was woken up by a tickling sensation on my collarbone. When I lifted my hand to brush it off, my fingers tangled in familiar silky hair. I chuckled as I realized what was happening and opened my eyes, smiling at Pietro. He lifted his head from my neck with a smirk and I rolled my eyes at him. "Good morning," he greeted, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer against him.

At some point in the night he had managed to get into my bed without waking me up. He was stealthier than I gave him credit for, it seems.

"Good morning indeed." I grinned, running my hands through his hair. "Is it my turn to watch?" Instead of answering, he brought his lips down on mine in a series of gentle kisses. "As much as I enjoy this," I said in between kisses, "Wanda is in the bed right next to us."

"She is sleeping," he dismissed, trailing his lips down to my neck. "We have not been truly alone in years."

I placed my hands on his cheeks and lifted his gaze to mine, smiling before kissing his forehead. "I know," I breathed into his skin. "I miss us too."

Pietro moved us to lay next to each other in the bed, holding both of my hands in one of his and placing the other on my cheek. He pressed our foreheads together, and I closed my eyes with a smile. The last time we had been able to be absolutely alone with only each other for company was before we volunteered for Strucker's experiments.

I opened my eyes to see that Pietro was still staring at me, and I chuckled. "What are you looking at, Lyubovka?"

"I am grateful that you came to us in the rubble." I was surprised that he brought that day up from so many years ago. We almost never talked about it as it was a painful memory for all of us, but I suppose seeing Stark and the other Avengers reminded him of it. "I am grateful that it was you to find us. I am grateful that you stayed with us. I am grateful for you."

I pulled one of my hands free from his to trail my fingers down his cheek lovingly. "I am grateful for the very same reasons. You and Wanda are my everything."

"And you are ours."

We kissed once more before I sat up. When Pietro tried to sit up with me, I pushed his shoulders back down against the bed. "Sleep," I commanded gently. "I will watch for danger now."

Before he could protest, because I knew he would, I pulled the blankets up over his head and stood from the bed. I watched with a smile as he situated himself more comfortably in the bed and laid down to rest. He did so much for Wanda and for me that in my mind, he deserved a good night's sleep more than anyone else.

* * *

There was a knock at the door hours later, during Wanda's watch. She woke both Pietro and I before opening the door, but whoever had been there was long gone. The only indication that they had been there at all was a small note taped to the door- completely blank except for a location.

 _Church of Belostok_

It might have been a trap, but at the time we were confident that we could take care of ourselves. Besides, Wanda pointed out that- judging from what she had seen from Stark's vision- there was bound to be someone else out there to help us destroy the Avengers.

Her word was all we needed to abandon the stolen hotel room without a second glance, making our way to the old church.


	5. Four

_To the Guest reviewer wanting to know what Maia looks like: I picture her as Amber Heard in the movie Drive Angry- the girl in profile picture for the story. :)_

* * *

 **Four**

We walked cautiously into the church, subconsciously keeping in close contact as we spotted the figure sitting with a cloth draped over its head.

Wanda glanced at Pietro and I before taking charge as she usually did, standing slightly in front of us to confront whoever had called us here. "Talk. And if you are wasting our time-"

"Did you know this church is in the exact center of the city?" he interrupted, waving his shadowed hand about in a lackadaisical manner. His voice was deep and masculine, but also slightly… off? I did not know how to describe it. "The elders decreed it so that everyone could be equally close to God… I like that, the geometry of belief." Wanda stepped closer, furrowing her eyebrows, and the man clenched his hand into a fist. "You're wondering why you can't look inside my head."

"Sometimes it's hard," she admitted, her face betraying her deep concentration. "But sooner or later every man shows himself."

"Oh, I'm sure they do." The figure stood, removing the fabric and allowing it to flutter to the floor as he revealed himself to us. Wanda stepped back at the same time that I reached out for her hand, taking a small step forward to shield her.

The man- robot?- was much larger than expected, and his eyes gleamed an alarming red. Every inch of him screamed _dangerous_ , and my instinct was to grab the twins and flee. Something else, however, told me that he could be the key to finally finding the justice we so desperately craved, so desperately deserved.

"But you needed something more than a man," he continued. "That's why you let Stark take the scepter."

"I didn't expect…" Wanda waved her hand flippantly, showing rather than explaining her surprise. "But I saw Stark's fear. I knew it would control him- make him self-destruct."

"Everyone creates the thing they dread. Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create avengers, people create… smaller people… um." He faltered, tapping his fingers together before chuckling as the word came to him. "Children! Lost the word there."

Pietro, Wanda and I looked between the three of us wearing matching expressions of confusion. He seemed imposing at first, but was this robot really as crucial as he made himself out to be? Only time would tell, I supposed.

He finished his little speech, either oblivious to our doubt or choosing to ignore it. "Children designed to supplant them. To help them… end."

"Is that why you've come?" Wanda asked. "To end the Avengers?"

"I've come to save the world," he answered instantly, sounding almost planned. He shrugged then, turning away from us. "But also, yeah."

* * *

We followed Ultron- as we had learned his name was- back to the old HYDRA base. I was hesitant to follow after learning of our destination, but a simple touch to the inside of my wrist from Pietro had me trailing after our new leader along with the twins.

The four of us walked through the dark, abandoned halls until we reached the room Ultron was looking for. We entered the lab that whirred with activity- the only room in the entire facility that wasn't completely dead.

Ultron held his arms out, motioning to all of the proceedings. "We'll move out right away. This is a start, but there's something we need to begin the real work."

I stepped in front of the twins, carefully running my fingers along the cool metal of the table that held one of hundreds of robots similar to Ultron. It was much fainter than a human nervous system, but the circuitry of the machines was still visible in the back of my mind. This was not what interested me however. It was the fact that all of their wiring seemed abnormally connected.

I looked over my shoulder to see that Ultron was watching me examine his army, and as I examined his own system it was suddenly clear what he was doing. "You are all connected," I stated rather than asked. "It's more than having the same system. You are all…" I struggled for the word, knitting my eyebrows as I searched for it.

Ultron smiled- a somewhat unnerving ability of his. "Me. I have what the Avengers never will- harmony. They're discordant, disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other." He turned to Wanda with the same smile, and if he was human I'm sure his eyes would have shown his excitement. "And when you get inside the rest of their heads-"

"Everyone's point is not to kill them," Pietro interrupted. He stood in between Wanda and I, staring Ultron down with defiance. His patience ran out as quickly as he could, and I could tell by the way he angled himself in front of us that he didn't trust Ultron.

"And make them martyrs?" Ultron asked, moving closer to the three of us. When he did, Pietro's arms twitched out reflexively to shield Wanda and I. "You need patience," Ultron continued. "You need to see the big picture."

Pietro's jaw clenched, revealing his frustration, though he kept his tone light. "I don't have a big picture. I have a little picture. I take it out and look at it. Everyday."

Ultron tilted his head slightly to the side, his face carefully expressionless. "You lost your parents in the bombings. I've seen the records."

"The records are not the picture," Pietro shook his head.

"Pietro." Wanda reached out, touching her brother's arm gently in warning.

"No," Ultron stopped her, holding his hand out towards her but keeping his eyes on Pietro. "Please."

Pietro looked at Wanda, eyes glazing over in remembrance. "We were ten years old, having dinner, the four of us. And the first shell his two floors below, makes a hole in the floor. It's big," he held his arms out weakly, demonstrating said hole. "Our parents fell in. The whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed. The second shell hits, but it doesn't go off. It just sits there in the rubble, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word…"

"Stark." Wanda practically spat the man's name, eyes brimming with angry tears. I understood the feeling exactly, because it was the same way I felt when I first saw the missile in the twins' bedroom all those years ago. How could a man who claimed to stand for peace bring such destruction?

"We were trapped for two days. But we were not alone." Pietro reached his hand out, running his knuckles lovingly down my cheek in a familiar, comforting fashion. He smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Maia came to us. We have not left each other ever since."

Wanda was latched onto Pietro's arm in a way I had not seen since the early days of our confinement. "Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think 'this will set it off'." She was becoming choked up, so I took over for her. She was strong too often- this she should not have to be strong about.

"The three of us sit there, waiting two days for Tony Stark to kill us."

Pietro nodded, turning back to Ultron. "I know what they are."

Ultron looked between the three of us with what looked like understanding. "I used to wonder why only you three survived Strucker's experiments. Now I don't. We will make it right. The three of us," he motioned between himself, Pietro and I, "we can hurt them. But you will tear them apart." He moved his hand as if to caress Wanda's face, drawing it back at the last second. "From the inside."

He walked back towards his machines, crossing his arms behind his back. "Get some rest. Tomorrow comes the real fun."


	6. Five

**Five**

While Ultron focused on preparing his army for the coming battle, the twins and I found a room with multiple beds and a balcony standing over the mountainside and decided that we would spend the night in here. We would face our enemies tomorrow, meaning we should have gone to sleep in preparation. Instead, we all sat together on one bed.

Pietro sat with his back against the wall and his legs hanging over the sides of the bed. I sat in between his legs with my back rested against his chest while he played with my hair. Wanda took up the rest of the bed, laying on her side with her head in my lap while I followed Pietro's example, gently brushing the hair out of her eyes and twisting it into a loose braid.

The back of my neck tickled as Pietro dragged the ends of my hair against it, causing me to twitch inadvertently. Not wanting to disturb Wanda, I tried to stop him by pinching his thigh but in a flash he had snatched my hand before I could move it even two inches closer. I looked back over my shoulder to glare at him, narrowing my eyes further when I saw his familiar playful smirk.

He brought the back of my hand up to his lips, kissing it softly. I continued to pout, but we both knew that I was never really angry with him and he only chuckled against my hand before moving it to his cheek and resting his head against it. I clicked my tongue at him in mock disapproval, but allowed him to keep hold of my left hand while I returned my attention to Wanda.

I would have thought she had fallen asleep if she didn't speak up. "Do you trust him?"

It was a silly question, but I answered it for her sake anyway. "You know that I do not trust anyone except you and Pietro."

She hummed instead of answering properly, but I understood the intent. She disagreed with me, but she wouldn't voice it. I sighed, tucking a loose strand behind her ear as she snuggled deeper into my lap. Sometimes I feared that Wanda was too innocent for the lives we led, but I also knew how strong she could be when she needed to be and that was enough to reinforce my belief in her. I have said it once and I will say it again, Wanda is the most mature and thoughtful of us all. I would go wherever she told me was the best place to be.

Talking to Ultron about the day I met the twins had brought up old memories, and unwanted or not I couldn't seem to shake them. Pietro had mentioned the little picture he kept of his family, and I couldn't help but remember my own parents that I had no reminders of. I was a year younger than the twins, meaning I was only nine years old when my old family was ripped away from me.

I didn't remember my parents much. I remembered that my papa worked in construction, and my mama was a school teacher. She had blonde hair, the same color as mine. My eyes were green, like his. Mama wore lovely dresses, even though they were simple. Papa dressed very casually, saying that he preferred comfort over style.

I remember loving them, but I don't remember them as my family. When I think of family now, the twins were the people who came to mind. What I did remember very distinctly was the day they became my new family, the day of the attack. The explosion rattling my young body, the dust invading my airways and causing me to choke. The blood, the gore, the fear.

I shook my head at the memories, slipping my hand out of Pietro's to lift Wanda's head off my lap. She sat up and both twins watched me with identical looks of worried confusion as I moved to the balcony, leaning my head against my joined fists with my elbows resting against the railing. I didn't want to think about the past, especially not when we were so close to completing our lifelong mission of exacting revenge for the downfall of our country.

We would go to Africa tomorrow, and the Avengers would undoubtedly come. With them would be Stark. The thought of seeing him caused a sardonic grin to tug at my lips. Whatever Ultron's plan was, I would not miss my chance to get in at least one good hit on the man. The robots could have him after that- I did not care what his fate was. I knew it wouldn't be a good one at any rate.

The usual buzzing of nerves alerted me to the presence behind me before a gentle hand was placed in between my shoulder blades. "You are nervous."

I chuckled, shaking my head against my fists before straightening my back and facing Wanda. Her hand slipped off my back as I turned. Pietro had also stood from the bed, though he was staying inside and watching us with his arms crossed over his chest.

I refocused my attention on Wanda, grinning and resting my hands casually behind me. "Not nervous," I disagreed. "I have waited many years for tomorrow to come- the same as you, sestreka."

"Then why are your thoughts so restless?"

"For the same reason they always are. I worry for you and Pietro."

Wanda smirked at that, though it was very different from Pietro's smirk. His was always teasing and playful, while hers was more knowing and tender. "There is no need for such worry, Maia. The three of us, we are strong. The Avengers do not stand a chance- especially now that we have Ultron on our side."

"I am sure." I stepped forward, gripping her shoulders. "That does not mean I do not worry, however."

"I know." Wanda placed her hands over mine, squeezing them comfortingly before removing them from her shoulders. "You have always worried over us."

"And I always will. But enough talk." I pulled her forward and kissed her cheek. I turned her around, leading her towards one of the many beds in the room. "We must rest before tomorrow. There will be much to do, and little time to do it."


	7. Six

**Six**

The following morning we flew all the way to Wakanda, Africa in only a few hours. Ultron told us that we would be retrieving large amounts of 'the strongest metal on earth'- vibranium. He hadn't told us yet what he would be using it for, other than the fact that it was crucial in his plans to take down the Avengers. That was all we needed to know to get moving.

After shutting down the power to the ship the vibranium was on, Pietro hurried Wanda and I to the office of the man running the operation- Klaw. When we were right outside the doors, Klaw raised his gun to shoot us. Before the bullet had time to hit any of us though, Pietro had already emptied the chamber and lined every bullet up on the desk, including the one Klaw fired.

I joined the two of them in the office, while Wanda stayed slightly back in the shadows.

"The enhanced," Klaw chuckled as he looked back and forth between the three of us. "Strucker's prized pupils." He sat in his chair and held a brass bowl out. "Want a candy? No?" He returned the bowl to the desk. "I was sorry to hear about Strucker. But then, he knew what kind of world he was helping create. Human life- not a growth market."

Growth market? The twins and I shared matching looks of confusion. Strucker intended to sell us?

"You didn't know?" Klaw leaned forward with his elbows rested on his knees. "Is this your first time intimidating someone? I'm afraid," he clicked his tongue, "not that afraid."

"Everyone is afraid of something," Wanda said as she walked further into the room.

"Cuttlefish. Deep sea fish. They make lights- disco lights." He opened and closed his hands in a clawing fashion. "Whump, whump, whump." Is he insane? I think he may actually be insane. "They hypnotize their prey, and then _whump_." He grabbed thin air. "I saw a documentary, it was terrifying."

Pietro snatched a piece of candy from the desk in a blur, faster than Klaw could even turn his head. He watched as Pietro unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth, shrugging when I raised my brow at him. As I've said before- he is never serious.

Klaw continued after taking a moment to realize what had just happened. "So if you're going to fiddle with my brain and make me see a giant cuttlefish, then I know you don't do business. And I know you're not in charge. And I only deal with the man in charge."

He stood from his chair with his back to the window, just in time for Ultron to raise up behind him. Within seconds, they had both flown through the office and back out into the hallway we had originally come in from. "There is no _man_ in charge." Ultron stood with one foot on either side of Klaw, leaning down so their faces were only inches apart. "Let's talk business."

Klaw nodded, and Ultron let him stand up to take us to the vibranium. Klaw and his right-hand man- who I did not know the name of, nor did I care to- led the four of us onto and elevator with no back wall. When they pressed the button to take us up, bio-hazardous barrels were replaced with glimmering silver metal inside of multiple glass tubes.

Klaw grabbed one tube and handed it to Ultron, who smiled appreciatively. His quick attitude changes were one of the many off-putting things about him. "Upon this rock, I will build my church." He flipped the tube in his hand before tossing it to Pietro. "Vibranium."

"You know, it came at great _personal_ cost," Klaw informed him, scratching at the brand on his neck. "It's worth billions."

Ultron chuckled before closing his eyes and lifting his head. When he opened his eyes again, the lackey's phone beeped. "Now so are you. It's all in your… dummy holdings? Finances, so _weird_. But I always say, keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which." I had never in fact heard him say that, but the rhyme made me smirk. I used to love poems, back when I had the time to read them. Klaw, however, did not appreciate the rhyme. He made an ugly face and mumbled something. "What?"

"Tony Stark." My smirk dropped at the name, replaced by a glare at the dirty man. "Tony Stark used to say that. To me. You're one of his."

" _What?_ " Ultron grabbed Klaw's arm, pulling him closer. The lackey tried to pull his gun, but I only had to twitch my fingers to disable his entire right arm. "I am not… You think I'm one of Stark's puppets? His hollow men? I mean, _look_ at me! Do I look like Iron Man? Stark is _nothing!_ " He swung his arm down, cutting of Klaw's. While the man looked devastated, Ultron held his hands up in defense. "Oh, I'm so- I'm sure that's gonna be okay. I'm sorry, it's just, I don't understand. _Don't compare me with Stark."_

On the last word, he kicked Klaw in the face, knocking him down the stairs. His lackey ran after him while Ultron gripped his metal hand into a fist. "Stark is- he's a _sickness_!"

"Aw, junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart."


	8. Seven

**Seven**

The four of us turned to look at the window frame, now devoid of glass thanks to Ultron's earlier theatrics. Iron Man dropped onto the metal bridge connecting the two sides, with Thor and Captain America standing obediently behind him.

"If I have to," Ultron responded. Pietro dropped the vibranium casing, and the three of us stood on Ultron's left to glare at the Avengers.

"You don't have to break anything," Thor shook his head.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet."

Stark looked back over his shoulder. "He beat me by one second."

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark?" Pietro moved in front of Wanda and I and motioned towards the missiles on the floor below us. "It's what- comfortable? Like old times."

"This was never my life."

I took a step forward to retaliate, but the Captain spoke up before I could. "You three can still walk away from this."

"Oh, we will." Wanda nodded with a mischievous smile, standing on my right.

"I know you've suffered-"

"Ugh!" All eyes went to Ultron as he chuckled, shaking his head. "Captain America. God's righteous man! Pretending you can live without war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth-"

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it."

Ultron turned to Thor. "I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

"Uh-huh." Stark nodded his head to the hole in the wall behind us. "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to discuss my evil plan-" Ultron reached out and bright blue tendrils gripped the circle in Stark's chest, pulling him forward. Two of Ultron's metal men flew in through the windows, attacking Thor and Captain America.

Stark flew into Ultron, and the two of them jetted off through the air, struggling with each other. Wanda pressed her palms together, summoning red wisps between them before firing them at the Captain. Pietro rushed forward, knocking Thor back. I knelt down and grabbed the vibranium Pietro had abandoned. It was as light as Ultron said, but was it as strong? I was curious to find out.

Men came running out of the halls, firing their guns. The two SHIELD workers, Black Widow and Hawkeye, shot them down with bullets and arrows. I glanced at the vibranium in my hands before throwing it as hard as I could at one of the gunners, laughing out loud when it knocked him out cold. Oh yes, definitely a useful metal.

I heard Pietro yell, and turned to see him fall off the platform and into a pile of crates. I immediately ran towards the stairs, trying to find the quickest way down. When I reached the bottom floor, I saw Captain America knock him down with his shield when Pietro tried to stand back up. "Stay down, kid."

He started to run, but before he got far I reached out towards the nerves in his legs and focused all my energy into making them burn. He screamed out as he crumpled to the ground and I walked closer, kneeling next to his face. When he looked up at me, I punched him in the jaw. "Perhaps you should follow your own advice," I suggested before standing back up and returning to Pietro in the crates, though I kept one arm out towards him, never letting go of my hold on his legs. "Are you all right?"

"All is well," Pietro assured me, pushing himself out of the mess underneath him. I held onto his arms to help pull him out of it, moving my hands up his arms and cradling his cheeks when he was standing. He said he was okay, but I scanned him up and down just to be sure. He chuckled when he saw me checking him for injuries and lowered my hands.

"You are sure?"

"All is well," he repeated, quickly kissing my forehead. "Though the same can't be said for the poor Captain over there."

I glared at the man who was still on the floor. "He hurt you."

Pietro held my waist, pulling me closer to him as he leaned in to my ear, whispering only loud enough for me to hear. "Remember the plan. Wanda will take care of him."

I didn't want Wanda to take care of him, I wanted him to suffer for hurting Pietro. But he was right. He would suffer more in the long run if I just stuck to the plan. "Why must you only be sensible at the times I don't want you to be?" Pietro chuckled, kissing my temple before running off to continue fighting the other Avengers. I allowed myself one more flare of pain in the Captain's legs before releasing my hold on him, stepping back into the shadows and sneaking up the stairs.

I looked around at the chaos we had created. Thor, Captain America and the Black Widow all sat on the ground with glazed red eyes. The metal men were flying the vibranium to our next location. Everything was going according to plan.

Then I heard Wanda gasp nearby. "I've done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan." On the opposite side of the platform from me, I saw Hawkeye holding an electrified arrow against her forehead. Wind rushed by me, and the next thing I saw was Pietro ripping the arrow off of Wanda and picking her up. I ran over to them and saw him glaring at Hawkeye on the floor below us.

"Get her out." I laid my hand on Pietro's shoulder, though I had joined him in staring down at the man on the floor. "Take Wanda. I will handle this."

He hesitated only a moment before running out with her. When he was gone, I jumped through the broken window, landing next to Hawkeye. He reached out for his bow, but I paralyzed him before he could grab it. "You hurt my family."

"Yeah, well your family hurt us first," he groaned out, and my anger flared like a forest fire.

"You think that we hurt you first?" I demanded, kicking him on to his back so he could see me standing above him. "You think that we enjoy causing destruction? We hurt you because we are saving the world from you. You think yourselves heroes, when in reality, you do nothing but destroy the world you claim to protect."

I crouched down, narrowing my eyes and lowering my voice. "You do not understand, but you will soon. Soon you will see that the world is a better place without you."

"Is that a threat?"

"It is a promise."

"Maia." I looked back over my shoulder and saw that Pietro had returned. I stood from my place next to the archer and held my arms up so Pietro could lift me back up onto the platform. Instead of setting me back down, he lifted me up until he was holding me. I barely had my arms around his neck before we were running. Seconds later, we were next to Wanda. "Is it done?"

Wanda nodded with a smile, staring in the direction of the city that was a few miles away. "I got the big one."


	9. Eight

**Eight**

On the flight to Seoul, I couldn't help but think about my exchange with the archer.

 _Your family hurt us first._

He was wrong. Stark had hurt us- had been continually hurting us- since we were mere children. He was a bad man, of that I had always been sure. Nothing more than a pompous, self-obsessed, greedy liar. I had always known this. This fact had shaped my entire life. Not only my life, but the twins' lives as well. Everything we did was for revenge against Stark, and now we had the opportunity to achieve it.

But all those people… The citizens of Wakanda, traumatized by the Hulk. That was caused by us. They were not Stark. They were not the Avengers. They were not SHIELD. They were not bad. But we hurt them.

I am not ignorant. I realize that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. But innocent lives, solely for the detriment of one man? One man that we did not even care about hurting. Perhaps if we had risked their lives to hurt Stark, I would think differently. Perhaps not. Everything since meeting the Avengers seemed much more confusing.

 _If you believe in peace, then let us keep it._

 _I think you're confusing peace with quiet._

But what is the difference between peace and quiet? Surely even if people long for war, as long as they do not act on it, they are harmless. Many people hold anger in their hearts. This does not make them bad people. If angry hearts made for bad people, the twins and I… But we are not bad people! We only wanted to hurt the man who hurt us.

 _Your family hurt us first._

No. No, I am simply overthinking the thoughtless words of an injured man. We are not bad people. There would be sacrifices, this I knew. Even if I did not like it, I could compromise. I would make myself compromise.

I was shaken from my confusing thoughts by a warm hand on my knee. I glanced to my left where Pietro was sitting, watching me with a worried look in his eyes. Without speaking, we had a conversation. He raised his eyebrows, I shrugged. He grimaced, I smiled. He shook his head, I rolled my eyes.

Essentially, he didn't believe me when I told him that I was perfectly all right.

"I will never understand why you choose to not speak with me," he mumbled, poking me in the ribs.

I tried to push his hand away, but he grabbed my hand firmly in his, smirking when I glared at him. "Children." We both turned to Wanda, who had adopted a mock-scolding tone. "This is no time for games."

"He started it!" I claimed at the same time he argued, "I'm older than both of you!"

"We'll be landing soon." The three of us turned to Ultron, who had interrupted our bantering. "You three stay on the jet, I'll come get you when it's time for the next part of our plan."

Only a few minutes after he told us this, we landed on the roof of a futuristic looking building. The things we saw with Ultron were an indescribable contrast to the things we saw in Sokovia, and I wondered if this is how things were all over the world. Ultron left us alone to go inside and find Doctor Cho, his Iron Legion bots following after him.

The twins and I remained on the jet for what seemed like a much longer time than I'm sure it was, growing increasingly bored. Pietro's feet were bouncing at a million miles an hour, eventually standing to pace the small jet space. Wanda leaned back with her head resting against the wall, probably still tired from using so much of her magic at once. I sat with my legs crossed underneath each other in my seat, switching my gaze in between the twins every once in a while. It was an old habit of mine to simply watch their nerves bounce around in their bodies, observing their natural patterns and reminding myself that they weren't feeling any pain.

"I'm tired of waiting," Pietro announced suddenly, moving towards the exit. "I want to see what he is up to." Wanda sighed at his impatience, but stood to follow him anyway. I had been about to suggest the idea myself and had absolutely no qualms about going in to see what Ultron was doing.

The three of us entered the facility, seeing that the Iron Legion had replaced the people who had been working here earlier. We could see Ultron sitting next to a machine- the Cradle, I think he called it- hooked in as he spoke with the woman who was presumably Dr. Cho.

When we walked into the lab, he stopped speaking to look at us. I assumed he would tell us to return to the jet, but instead he smiled and motioned for us to come further in. I would never understand the way this robot thought. Wanda walked halfway up to the Cradle with Pietro and I only slightly behind her.

"We're uploading your cerebral matrix now," Dr. Cho explained, moving around the lab. A beeping sounded that I assumed indicated the machines were functional.

Wanda stepped even closer, staring down at the Cradle. "I can read him. He is dreaming."

"I wouldn't call it dreams." I looked to Dr. Cho, furrowing my eyebrows when I saw her eyes. They were an unnatural blue, reminding me strangely of lightning bolts. Ultron said he would make her see that helping him was the best choice, but I had assumed he would simply tell her our story, explain our plans. What had he done to her instead? "It's Ultron's base consciousness. Informational noise. Soon-"

"How soon?" Ultron looked at the doctor over his shoulder with a smile, holding his hand up in a show of democracy. "I'm not being pushy."

While Doctor Cho explained how there was no room for shortcuts in such a delicate process, Wanda stepped even closer to the Cradle with her hands outstretched. I could tell she was eager to see inside of Ultron's head- she had been since the night we met him. Her hands touched the Cradle, and a split second later she recoiled, screaming in pain.

Pietro and I rushed forward, pulling her away from the Cradle and holding her. He took her face in his hands, eyes darting over her to check for external injuries. I wrapped one arm around her waist with my other hand on her back, willing her nerves to calm themselves in an attempt to soothe her pain. Her eyes showed no relief, though I knew she felt no physical pain, telling me that it had been mental.

She slowed her breathing before staring up at Ultron in horror. I followed her gaze and saw that he was now standing, looking down on us with... remorse? "How could you?" Wanda breathed.

"How could I what?"

"You- you said..." Wanda shook her head slightly, eyes never leaving Ultron. "You said we would destroy the Avengers. Make a better world!"

"It _will_ be better."

"When everyone is dead?" Pietro and I looked at each other over Wanda's head. That is what she had seen?

"That is _not_... The human race will have _every_ oppurtunity to improve."

Pietro turned from Wanda to join her in watching the robot's every move. "And if they don't?"

"Ask Noah."

I was horrified at what he was telling us, but even more than that I was _livid._ I knew it. I knew it from the very beginning that we could not trust him, yet I had gone along with him anyway, endangering not only myself, not only my family, but the entire world. "You have no idea what you are suggesting," I growled at him.

"There were more than a _dozen_ extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs! When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And believe me, he's winding up."

"But you are not God," I told him, and his red eyes flashed to me. "It is not your job to 'throw a stone' at us."

His voice dropped to a husky whisper, sending chills down my spine as he caressed the Cradle. "I'm sorry. But we have to evolve. There's no room for the weak."

We had to leave _now_. "And who decides who is weak?" Pietro asked, wrapping his arms around Wanda's waist as she wiggled her fingers at Dr. Cho, releasing the woman from whatever spell Ultron had placed her under.

"Life," Ultron chuckled. "Life always decides." He looked up from the Cradle to examine the ceiling, and I took this chance to whisper behind Wanda's head to Pietro.

"Get Wanda out," I told him as quietly as humanly possible. I knew that he couldn't carry both of us out at the same time, but I also knew that he would have tried. Every fibre of my being was screaming at me that separating was a terrible idea, but I would rather do that than keep the twins in harms way for my sake. "Do not argue, simply leave. I will handle myself."

"There's incoming." Ultron looked back at us, leaving Pietro no chance to talk back to me. I squeezed his hand behind Wanda's back before kissing her cheek. "The quinjet. We have to get moving."

Pietro tried to slip his fingers in between mine, but I pulled my hand back before he could. It broke my heart, and I knew it would hurt them, but there was no other option that would keep them safe.

"That's not going to be a problem," the newly freed Dr. Cho informed us. We watched as she typed a few things into the Cradle's screen, Ultron groaning when she shut down the process of inserting him into the body.

Ultron raised his hand and blasted her back, setting my hastily thought up plan into motion. I mimicked his action by raising my own hand, focusing every ounce of energy in my body into freezing him in place. When I was sure he couldn't move, I glanced to where the twins had been and saw that they were gone.


	10. Nine

**Nine**

I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold Ultron long, so I fully intended to say everything needing to be said before he could stop me. "You are just like Strucker," I spat through clenched teeth. "You promise justice, but deliver destruction. We looked to you for our salvation, but instead found our downfall. You say you have no strings. Now _I_ am your strings." I twisted him to face me, and I could see the betrayal mixed with anger in his metal features. "Stark may be a sickness, but you are the plague."

Hard metal gripped my arms, breaking my concentration and releasing Ultron. I didn't have to look to know that it was two Iron Legion bots holding me in place. I didn't bother struggling, I knew I wouldn't be able to wiggle out of their grasp. Even if I did, I couldn't outrun them. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I only hoped that Pietro had found a way to get himself and Wanda to safety.

"You will understand. You will _all_ understand. I just need a little more _time_." Ultron ripped out his connection to the Cradle with two more bots wheeling it out of the lab.

"I will never understand the ramblings of a mad man."

Ultron walked closer and leaned down to my height, leveling his eyes with mine. "Then it's a good thing I'm not a man."

He stepped in front of the Iron Legion, motioning for them to follow him as he walked out of the lab. I was dragged along with them, thoughts whizzing the entire time as I searched for a way to escape and find the twins again.

On the roof, Ultron sent one of the Iron Legion to pilot the jet in the opposite direction of where we would be going as a distraction to the Avengers. _The Avengers._

We had been fighting them all this time, but perhaps... Compared to Ultron, they were certainly the lesser of two evils. They may not agree with our way of doing things- particularly since we had been trying to hurt them for so long- but they had been focused on fighting Ultron this whole time. If I could only communicate that I was on their side, would they help me?

It was worth the risk, at least. Growing up in Sokovia, I learned very young to never hope for miracles, but to make miracles happen yourself.

I was loaded into the back of a lab truck along with the Cradle, Ultron and two of the remaining bots. The third took the driver seat, pulling out of the garage and speeding away from the facility. I stood in the back corner of the truck with my arms crossed over my chest, avoiding a certain somebody's red eyes.

That didn't stop him from trying to talk to me. "Try to understand, Maia. Everything I'm doing is for the good of the world." When he could see that I wasn't going to answer him, he sighed and hooked himself back into the Cradle. It immediately continued creating the vibranium body, whirring quietly- the only sound in the truck besides the traffic outside of it.

I could tell that we were on a looping street by the subtle shift in gravity, causing my right shoulder to bump against the wall. Then, only seconds laters, a harsh thud sounded against the roof. Ultron and I looked up at the same time, but with very different reactions. Through the metal roof I could vaguely make out the familiar mapping of a human nervous system, and I hid my smile as to not give away my intentions. Ultron growled, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no. Leave me _alone_!"

Ultron blasted the truck doors open, but one bounced back with Captain America clinging to the edge of it. He shot the door again, causing it to fall off the hinge and scrape against the concrete road. The Captain yelled something, but I couldn't hear what he said over the high pitched screech the metal was making.

Ultron stood and disconnected himself from the Cradle before turning to stare and point at me. "Stay here. I'll be back." I didn't respond, but luckily he didn't take any other precautions besides telling the Iron Legion to keep an eye on me before he jumped out of the moving truck to fight the Avenger.

I could hear them fighting and arguing about real change above me, but my attention was focused on finding a way out. I couldn't just jump out of a moving vehicle, and I wouldn't be able to keep both Iron Legion bots off of me at the same time as controlling the driver.

Something dropped off the roof, and a flash of red, white and blue caught my eye for a fraction of a second before it disappeared between the other cars on the road. I hadn't seen it long, but I recognized it as Captain America's shield. How was he supposed to fight Ultron without it? My entire escape plan was resting on him winning this fight!

By the sound of his pained grunts, I could tell that he most definitely was _not_ winning this fight.

As nonchalantly as possible as to not alert my bodyguards, I turned my concentration towards the bundle of nerves in the Captain's shoulder that Ultron was twisting and soothed the pain. I couldn't stop the damage, but at least I could stop him from feeling it until later. When I was sure he wasn't feeling the effects of Ultron's attacks, I pushed as much of my power behind his own hits as possible. It was difficult to support his movements instead of simply controlling them, but I knew that it would give me away if I began using the Captain as a puppet.

While I was focused on helping the Captain, I missed the Black Widow riding up behind us on a motorcycle. I didn't realize that she had been following us until the Iron Legion turned away from me to shoot at her. The sudden movement of my captors distracted me from helping the Captain, and Ultron took this chance to knock him off the top of the truck.

He landed on the hood of a civilian's car, cracking the windshield as the car tumbled out of control. Multiple cars piled up, and the Captain was on the road. He started running back towards us, jumping from car to car. I used the advantage of not being watched to broaden my hand movements, pushing him to run faster and jump higher until he was back on the truck.

Harsh, repetitive plinking above me alerted me to the fact that something was shooting at Ultron, and I bit back the urge to groan at whoever was trying to hurt him that way. He is made of metal, I wanted to scream at them. Bullets will do nothing to him!

However stupid their original intentions may have been, however, I was quickly thanking them for this action. The shooter was revealed to be the pilot of a jet that flew away from us and the two bots in the truck with me flew after it, leaving only myself and the Cradle in the back of the truck. I thought that this was the best outcome I could have hoped for until something even better happened.

Captain America managed to knock Ultron off the truck, and when he retaliated the two men went flying into a passing train. The only enemy left on the truck was the driver, but dealing with one was much easier than dealing with four. "It seems my luck has turned," I mumbled, smiling to myself.

Then, the Black Widow leapt from her motorcycle and into the back of the truck, glaring at me standing next to the Cradle. Before I could even open my mouth to speak, her gun was cocked and pointed directly at me.

* * *

 **A/N:**

I know, I know. I'm a terrible person. I apologize for leaving off on yet another cliffhanger, especially after taking so long to update.

However! There will be another chapter posted today, so at least you won't have to wait long to see the first interaction between Maia and Natasha. Look out for Chapter Ten, which will be posted within the next hour or so. :)


	11. Ten

**Ten**

"No, no, no!" I shouted, my hands reflexively shooting up and gripping her nerves tight to freeze her in place. I hadn't planned on using my ability on any of them at this point, but to be fair, I also hadn't planned on one of them pointing a gun at me. "I am not going to hurt you. Okay? I am on your side."

Even though I was only holding her arms and legs in place, her face remained completely expressionless. It was even more eerie than Ultron showing emotion. "Were you on our side when you attacked us in Wakanda?"

This is what I had been afraid of. I sighed and shook my head, glancing behind her to make sure that the bots weren't coming back yet. "No, I was not. But this is different. We do not have the time to argue, but you must believe me. I can not say that I trust you, but I can say that I do not trust Ultron either. I have come to realize that he is... not what he claimed to be. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?"

The Black Widow was silent for much too long for me to be comfortable, but I knew that the fact that I was physically restraining her wouldn't be a comfort for her. So, hesitantly, I wiggled my fingers to draw her attention to my hands and lowered them to my side, releasing my hold on her. "I am not going to hurt you," I repeated, keeping my eyes carefully trained on the woman. "I want to help you."

When I was no longer controlling her, she paused for only a moment before returning the gun to its holster on her hip. I let out the breath I'd been holding since she jumped into the truck and turned to face the cradle when she went to the side opposite of me. "Natasha."

It took a minute for me to register that she had just told me her name. I watched the realization flicker on her face as she tapped on the Cradle's screen, seeing for the first time what Ultron was using the vibranium for. "My name is Maia."

"What about your friends? Do they want to help us?" she asked while kneeling and studying the machine, most likely trying to figure out how to move it.

"I cannot speak for Wanda or Pietro," I answered, directing her to the straps holding the Cradle in place. "But I do know them, more than anybody else in the world, and I trust that they would want to help if at all possible."

"Where are they?"

"I do not know." She glanced up from the straps, raising a brow towards me in question. "We were separated. When Ultron turned on us, I told them to run. I was their distraction."

"Nice friends."

I knew that she was being sarcastic, but I agreed with her anyway. "They are my family. I am glad that they got to safety."

Before she could reply, we were shaken by the Iron Legion bots returning from their attack on the jet to attach themselves to the sides of the truck. I had been holding onto a black strap, and when Natasha almost tumbled outside of the truck I gripped her forearm to keep her inside. It wasn't until the truck leveled out that I realized we were flying.

When I was sure Natasha was not in danger of falling anymore, I let go of her arm. "Do we have a plan?"

Instead of answering me, she pressed a hand to her ear. "Negative, I am still in the truck." I don't know who she was talking to or what they planned on doing to the truck, but I was very glad that she was in here with me to tell them to not do it. "Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you." Natasha glanced at me with a smirk- the first real expression I'd seen her display. "With a little surprise on top... Eh, you might wish you hadn't asked that."

Natasha tossed me a knife and pulled out a second one. "Cut that," she instructed, pointing towards the closest black strap. "We need to get this thing out and we don't have time to untie all of these." No further explanation needed. I started sawing away at the thick fabric while Natasha cut the one on the opposite end of the Cradle. The jet from earlier flew into view outside the truck just as I finished cutting the first strap. "Hold on to the Cradle."

This is the point where I realized what her plan was, and I did not like it one bit. With no time to argue, however, I simply did as she told me and gripped the Cradle as tightly as I could. Natasha slit the last strap and attached what I assumed was a bomb, judging by the countdown, to the truck's wall and jumped on the Cradle as it started to slip out of the truck.

Soon enough we were dropping through the air and I was fighting the urge to scream. Needless to say I had never done anything like this, and experiencing it for the first time- especially without the twins at my side- was completely terrifying.

My fear only worsened when right before we landed inside of the waiting jet, Ultron appeared out of nowhere, flying in on my right. "Natasha!" I shouted over the whipping wind, hoping she would have some idea of what to do in this situation.

To my surprise, she suddenly pushed me off the Cradle. I dropped off the machine and straight through the open door of the jet. I landed with a thud that knocked the breath out of me, and not even a second later the Cradle dropped on my left. Groaning, I pushed myself up onto my knees as the door closed behind me.

"Nat! Cap, you seen Nat? Wait, what the hell?"

I knew that voice. I looked up and straight into the eyes of the man piloting the jet, my already quickened heartbeat speeding even further. It was the same man that I had threatened not too long ago, and now I was in front of him after his friend was kidnapped by Ultron in my place. Why do I constantly find myself in these situations?

Hawkeye stared at me with confusion mixed with poorly disguised anger before he turned back to the front and continued talking to somebody I couldn't see. "Do you have eyes on Nat?" He was silent while the other person replied. He must not have been happy with the answer, because he hit the palms of his hands against the steering wheel and muttered curses as we flew further and further from Seoul.

I stood quietly with the help of the Cradle, keeping my eyes on Hawkeye. I think he sensed me looking at him, because soon enough he returned to glaring at me. "Why are you here?"

"I am here to help," I explained carefully. I knew that if one of the twins had sacrificed themselves for one of the Avengers I would not be very keen on listening to what they had to say, so I was going to be very cautious with this man. "I explained to Natasha. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Ultron is your enemy, yes?" He nodded once. "Then for the time being, you are my friend."

He put the pieces together in his head and nodded once more before returning his attention to flying the jet. Glad that he wasn't intent on killing me, at least for the moment, I sat back down with a sigh and pulled one knee up to rest my arm on. Everything had become much more complicated since leaving Sokovia.

"I am sorry about Natasha," I offered. I didn't know these people, but I knew what it was like to be separated from somebody you care about. "I am sure you will get her back."

"Yeah, well I won't stop until I do."

I nodded even though he wasn't looking at me. I could recognize the determination in his gruff voice well enough to know what his expression would look like. Natasha was this man's family. Even without knowing where I was going, or what the future held for any of us, I did not doubt that he would bring Natasha back.


	12. Eleven

**Eleven**

The rest of the jet ride was mostly silent, the only sound being Clint, as I came to know his name was, speaking through an unseen communication device with somebody at Stark Tower. When we arrived Clint tapped my shoulder and nodded his head in the direction he was walking, silently telling me to follow after him. I knew better at this point than to question him, considering he was the only person here who knew I wasn't a threat, and trailed silently behind him through the winding hallways.

"Judging by our little chat back at the warehouse in Wakanda- A+ threatening skills by the way, I was very convinced you wanted me dead- you don't like us very much." Clint glanced at me from over his shoulder with one brow raised and a little smirk. Strangely enough, it reminded me of Pietro. Despite the fact that Natasha was missing and he had no real reason to trust me, he was making jokes.

"Whether I like you or not is irrelevant," I shrugged. "It is my duty to protect my family. When Ultron threatened them, it became my duty to help you stop him. My opinion will not cloud my judgment."

Clint stopped in front of a silver door just long enough to type in a code and press his forefinger against a scanner. "You keep calling them your family, but we know that you're not related. SHIELD knows things," he explained before I could ask how they knew that. "Plus you and that speedy bastard seemed a little too... personal for siblings. You feel like explaining that at all?"

I like this man, I decided, despite his affiliation with Stark and the other Avengers. He trusted me relatively easily, at least enough to allow me the freedom of walking freely behind him. On top of that he asked questions instead of demanding answers. Perhaps he works with the Avengers for the same reason I sided with Ultron.

Regardless of whether I liked him or not however, I was not willing to discuss my past in depth with anyone besides the twins. "It is a long, complicated story," I offered in hopes that this answer would suffice. "Family does not only consist of brothers and sisters, however."

"I can understand that. Probably more than you'd know."

I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but the next door that Clint opened led us into a room with two men I was quite sure were not going to react well to my presence. I stayed hidden behind the archer's back, allowing him to greet them before I had to defend myself. Clint told them about Ultron grabbing Natasha and the Cradle in the back of the jet before looking back at me over his shoulder.

"Who are you hiding back there, Robin Hood?" Clint nudged me and I sidestepped, revealing myself to the scientists. The one with glasses that I knew only by his alter ego looked angry- which did not bode well for me- while Stark visibly tensed. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"She's here to help," Clint answered before I could, clapping my shoulder. That apparently wasn't enough for either of the other men, because their stances didn't shift in the slightest, so he continued. "Nat gave herself up to Ultron for her. That's enough for me."

This must have given them some semblance of comfort, because Stark raised his eyebrows before shrugging and the one with the glasses pursed his lips and began fiddling his fingers together. Clint patted my shoulder once more with a nod before asking Tony to help him bring the Cradle in, leaving me alone with the man whose name I did not know.

We stood on opposite sides of the room, simply watching each other awkwardly for a moment. I had no desire to befriend the man, but even less so did I want him quietly analyzing me, so I said the first thing that came to mind. "I do not know your name."

He startled slightly, a clear indicator that he had not expected me to speak. Adjusting his glasses, he mumbled something incoherent before answering me. "I wouldn't expect you to."

"My name is Maia," I supplied, hoping he would understand that I was asking for his own name. It was inconvenient working with people that you don't know, let along not knowing what to even call them.

"I know. I read about you."

Sighing, I realized that he was either completely oblivious or avoiding telling me his name. Only one way to find out. "What is your name?"

He very obviously didn't want me to know, by the way he was fidgeting. I have no idea what leverage he thought I would hold by knowing what to call him, but whatever it was seemed to seriously bother him. Despite this fact, he answered. "Bruce."

I didn't speak again, but nodded in acknowledgement. I was wrong- having him analyze me would be better than going through that process for every question. Thankfully, Stark and Clint returned with the Cradle only a minute later. Bruce immediately went to work helping Stark boot up the Cradle, plugging in countless cords and tapping away at multiple screens. Clint tried to pull the top hatch open, but it wouldn't budge. "This is sealed tight."

Bruce stood on the opposite side of the Cradle from Clint with his back to me, spreading his fingers over it. "We're gonna need to access the program. Break it down from within." Clint sighed and ran his hand back through his hair, stepping away from the Cradle and towards a staircase leading down. Stark turned to face him when they crossed paths.

"Any chance Natasha might leave you a message? Outside the Internet, old school spy stuff?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll find her." Clint nodded, though it looked to me as if he was convincing himself as much as he was convincing any of us. He glanced at me and nodded once more before jogging down the steps. Part of me hurt for this man- despite the fact I barely knew him- and wanted to reach out to calm him, but I restrained myself. Even though it was one with good intentions, I doubted he would appreciate the gesture that involved me manipulating him.

When I finally looked away from the stairs, I realized that Stark had been staring at me with his hands shoved down into his pockets. Even though I knew he wouldn't hurt me, every instinct I had was screaming at me to push him away and run. Those instincts only became louder when he tilted his head with a smirk and moved closer to me.

My shoulders tensed when he stood no more than a foot away from me. "What do you want?" I asked roughly, hoping he would hear my discomfort and simply leave. But of course nothing was simple with this man. It was silly of me to expect any less.

"Nothing," he shrugged, smirk firmly in place. "I'm just a bit underwhelmed is all. From what Cap said earlier, you're supposed to pack quite the wallop, but I'm not getting that vibe from you."

"I could not care less about the vibe you get from me," I scoffed. "I did not come here to prove myself to anyone, least of all _you_."

He raised his eyebrows with a little chuckle. "Feisty. Don't worry kid, I'm not looking for your approval."

"Good."

Before he could retort, Bruce cut him off with a sigh. "Tony, just get over here and help me figure out what's inside of this."

Stark actually had to think about it before he decided to leave me alone and join his friend next to the Cradle. When he turned his back to me, I rolled my eyes at his craving for annoying others and crossed my arms over my chest before leaning back against the wall. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and prayed to be reunited with Pietro and Wanda soon, or I may not be able to keep myself sane around the Avengers.


	13. Twelve

**Twelve **

Bruce and Stark had been mumbling technological nonsense for much too long to seem even remotely interesting, and I didn't know the code to open the door- not that Stark would have been too happy with me wandering his home unattended either way- so I had resigned myself to looking around the lab I was stuck in. I was studying at a glass screen that displayed seemingly random numbers and letters when Stark drew my attention back to him.

"Hey, Grumpy." I looked back over my shoulder at the man pointing his finger at me, but left my hand hovering over the glass. "Don't touch my stuff."

I considered touching the screen again just to irritate him, but decided against it in the end and lowered my hand to my side. I was much too distracted to argue with him for the moment. My thoughts had been swirling around in my head since Clint left the room and I had been left to my own devices. Despite the fact it had only been a few hours, not being near the twins was making me increasingly nervous. My stomach twisted in knots, my palms were coated in a thin sheen of sweat, my thoughts revolved around them suffering at the hands of Ultron. Any number of things could have happened to them, and I would never be the wiser.

I took to pacing as a way of trying to clear my head, seeing as it worked so well for Pietro. Luckily, other than throwing an annoyed glance my way every so often, Stark didn't mention my nervous tendencies. He instead kept the majority of his focus on helping Bruce do something with the Cradle. I paid them very little attention until I overheard one whispered statement I am positive they did not want me to hear.

"Genetic coding is at 97 percent. You have _got_ to upload that schematic in the next three minutes"

I froze in place, staring at the two men with almost disbelief. While I could not fathom why they were bringing Ultron's body to life, it did not exactly surprise me either. "I should have expected no less from the two of you," I huffed only barely loud enough for them both to hear me, but still they both turned to face me like two children who had just been caught by their mother. "You have _no_ idea what you are doing!"

"Can it, Goldilocks." Stark quickly recovered from my scolding, and returned to tapping away at his screen. "We know what we're doing. Why don't you just go back to your incessant worrying and leave this to the big boys, huh?"

A familiar sense of rage built up from the pit of my stomach as I glared harshly at Stark, my fingers reflexively twitching to light every nerve in his body on fire. It took every ounce of restraint I had to not harm him right then and there. "If you do not shut the Cradle down in the next five seconds, I will force you to."

Bruce took that threat none too kindly, turning his full body towards me, his face set in an eerily calm yet threatening expression. "You really don't want to try that."

"Yeah, you wouldn't like him when he's angry," Stark half-joked.

"I could have you both writhing in pain on the floor before you took a single step." I narrowed my eyes further, switching my gaze back and forth between the two men as I raised my hands in front of me to show that I was completely serious. "I do not want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Shut the Cradle down. _Now_."

Before any of us could carry through with our threats, the lab door slid open and three more people joined us in the newly tense room. I turned to face the arrivals, but my eyes were only on him for half a second before I was taking in the other two arrivals.

Stark and his poor attempt of a plan were immediately forgotten. I dropped my arms to my side, and rushed to meet the twins halfway as we hurried towards each other. The second they were within arm's reach, I had one hand on Wanda's cheek and the other on Pietro's. Never had I been more glad to see them, to feel them beneath my fingertips, to sense that comforting buzz that assured me they were alive and well. Soon enough Wanda had pulled me into a tight hug, quickly followed by Pietro's arm around my waist and his lips pressed against the top of my head. For the first time we'd left Sokovia, I felt at home. At peace.

But of course, these were not peaceful times, and our reunion was short lived. The three of us separated from our embrace at the sound of the Captain's voice, but stayed close enough to each other to still be touching. "I'm only gonna say this once."

"How 'bout nunce?"

"Shut it down!" The Captain demanded, but Stark simply continued what he was doing.

"Nope. Not gonna happen."

"You don't know what you're doing!"

"And you do?" Bruce asked, speaking for the first time since the others had come in, pointing at Wanda. "She's not in your head?"

Wanda took a slight step forward. "I know you're angry-"

"Oh, we are way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

The anger that the sight of the twins had calmed flared up again, and I shifted my stance ever so slightly in front of Wanda. If he wanted to touch her, he was going to have to get through me first.

"Banner, everything that's happened-"

"Is nothing compared to what's coming," Stark interjected.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda yelled, though I could see the hidden pain behind the rage. She was the only one of us who had seen what was inside the Cradle, and she knew that it could be nothing good. That was enough for me to be willing to turn on the Avengers at any second should they not be willing to reason.

Everyone's voices raised as they tried to get through to each other, but despite the screaming filling the room I still heard Pietro let out a sigh on my right before he dropped his arm from my waist and sprinted to the other side of the room. All that was visible was a streak of blue followed by Pietro standing next to the Cradle, holding the thick cord that had connected it to all of Stark's computers.

When they saw this, the three Avengers stared at Pietro in stunned silence. "No, no, go on," he deadpanned. "You were saying?"

The next thing we all saw was Pietro falling through the floor, accompanied by the shrill shattering of glass and a gunshot. Wanda and I shouted at the same time, but our voices were drowned out by the high-pitched beeping of every computer in the lab.

"I'm rerouting the upload," Stark explained as he began working on multiple monitors at once. However, before he could do much of anything, the Captain threw his shield into the wall, causing it to ricochet across three different surfaces before breaking Stark's computers. Stark retaliated by pulling on the arm to one of his suits and blasting the Captain clear across the room.

Everything after that happened in a blur of activity, every person in the lab scrambling to stop the others.

Stark's suit came flying out of nowhere to attach itself to him. The Captain struggled to push himself off the floor and run back towards Stark. Neither of them were of any concern to me however. My initial intention was to check on Pietro, but I took only a few steps before I heard Wanda gasp.

I turned back and saw that Bruce had wrapped his arm around her neck and was uncomfortably close to choking her. "Go ahead," he practically growled. "Piss me off."

 _Hatred._ This was the only word strong enough for the feeling that replaced every bit of logic I contained. I wasted no time, reacting out of pure instinct to protect my adopted sister at all costs. Within a span of mere seconds, I had every nerve in his body under my control with my tensed hands whirling. I twisted his arms out and away from Wanda before pinning them down by his sides and forcing him to his knees.

The Avengers were too busy fighting each other to even notice me keeping Bruce on the ground. Ultron was a fool. He wanted to use Wanda to pit the Avengers against each other, but little did he know that they were perfectly capable of ruining themselves.

I continued pushing Bruce down until he was pinned completely against the floor. I could sense the part of his brain that the Hulk had claimed struggling against me, and focused most of my attention on keeping him from turning. If it were anyone else, every part of them would be in immeasurable pain right now, but I was still smart enough to keep that small part of him free of any discomfort. I would not give him the satisfaction of becoming stronger than me. Bruce would remain himself.

My hold on him was disrupted when I was unexpectedly tackled to the ground by Clint, who I had not even seen come back from downstairs. We both landed in a tangled heap on the ground, and I had to push him off of me so I could breathe. When I looked over the room, I saw that Stark was half-clad in an Iron Man suit, the Captain was pushing himself out of a pile of broken glass, Bruce was shivering as he sat back up, and Wanda was holding her throat with wide eyes.

I wanted to run to her, but the sight of Thor flying in from seemingly nowhere and landing atop the Cradle caused me to falter. "Wait!" Bruce yelled when Thor raised his hammer towards the sky, but was ignored by the god who summoned lightning so bright everyone except him had to look away.

The computers' beeping melted into incomprehensible screeching as the electricity caused a power overload. When the lightning stopped, there was only barely enough time for Clint and I to stand before Thor himself was knocked off the Cradle and sent flying across the floor by the top bursting open in a show of bright light and fog.


	14. Thirteen

**Thirteen**

A red and silver figure lifted itself out of the Cradle, landing softly in a kneeling position surrounded by the dispersing fog. It stood slowly, holding it's hands slightly out in front of itself- almost defensively- as it looked around at all of us surrounding it. This is what Ultron had been building. The vibranium man.

When his eyes landed on Thor standing directly in front of the Cradle, he surprised us all by flying towards him at an incredible speed. Thor reacted just quickly enough to barely deflect the attack with his hammer, knocking the man through the glass wall of the lab and into the adjacent living area. He tumbled through the air until coming to a sudden stop in front of the window displaying the New York skyline.

As the vibranium man hovered in front of the window with one hand poised above the glass, the rest of us followed Thor's lead down a flight of stairs and into the living room. Stark, Bruce, Clint and the Captain all stood on the right side of the room while Wanda, Pietro and I stood on the left with Thor standing in front of the two groups. The man we were all watching gradually turned to face us, shifting his form to become clothed in a silver suit with a red and gold cape as he landed next to Thor.

"I am sorry," he apologized quietly with a small nod. "That was... odd. Thank you."

Thor nodded back, and the Captain looked between the two men. "Thor, you helped create this?"

"I have had a vision," Thor explained. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at it's center-" he pointed towards the amber gem implanted in the vibranium man's forehead, "-is that."

"What, the gem?" Bruce asked as he and Stark both carefully stepped closer.

"The mind stone. There are six Infinity Stones, the greatest powers in the universe, unparalleled in their destructive capabilities."

"Then why would you bring it-"

"Stark is right." Thor cut Steve off and Bruce sighed.

"Oh, it is _definitely_ the end times."

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone," the Vision agreed, walking forward.

Steve tilted his head slightly and joined Stark and Banner in studying the new addition. "Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?"

"We configured Jarvis' matrix." Stark stood almost toe-to-toe with the man now, and they circled each other until they had replaced the other with Stark standing closer to Thor and the Vision standing in between us and the Avengers. "We created something new."

"I think I've had my fill of new," Steve mumbled, seemingly to himself.

"You think I am a child of Ultron."

"You're not?"

"I am not Ultron. I am not Jarvis. I am... I _am_."

Wanda stepped in front of Pietro and I, glaring slightly at the red man. "I looked in your head and saw annihilation."

"Look again."

Clint chuckled before speaking for the first time since we had arrived at the Tower. "Yeah, her approval means jack to me."

Thor came forward to reclaim everyone's attention, gesturing towards the twins and I. "Their powers, the visions in our heads, even Ultron himself. They all came from the mind stone, but they are nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on _our_ side-"

"Is it?" Steve asked Thor, and turned to the man wielding the stone. "Are you? On our side?"

The Vision looked to the floor with confusion written across his features. "I don't think it's that simple."

"Well it better get real simple real soon."

The Vision looked up at Clint's words and took the time to look at everyone in the room before speaking again. "I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

Wanda's head dipped infinitesimally, but I still noticed and placed a comforting hand on her back. I knew she blamed herself for everything, despite the fact that none of it was her fault. She thought that if she had not trusted Ultron so quickly, he would not be doing what he is now. The truth was that Ultron would wish to destroy the world with or without our help, but it was difficult for her to see that.

"What's he waiting for?" the Captain asked, and the Vision turned towards the five Avengers in the room.

"You."

"Sokovia." The twins and I all focused our attention on Clint at the mention of our home. "He's got Nat there too."

The room was quiet as everyone let this information sink in. For the Avengers it would have been good news- they knew where there friend was. But for the twins and I, it was devastating. Utron meant to destroy the world, and he was planning to start with our home.

Bruce moved closer to the Vision, folding his hands together. "If we're wrong about you... If you're the monster that Ultron made you to be..."

"What will you do?" When nobody answered the Vision's question, he stepped around Bruce to address us all as a group. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique. And he's in pain. But that pain will roll above the earth, so he _must_ be destroyed. Every form he has built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now, and not one of us can do it without the others... Maybe I _am_ a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended, so there may be no way for me to make you trust me. But we need to go."

We were all silent as the Vision lifted Thor's hammer with ease, holding it out at arm's length towards the god. Stark and the Captain looked at each other in shock, Bruce and Clint stared at the hammer with knit brows, and the twins and I simply watched in confusion.

Thor took the hammer, and the Vision walked out of the room with his cape billowing behind him. Everyone was shocked into silence- all of us except Thor, who maintained a mask of begrudging acceptance as he followed behind the Vision. "All right," he clapped Stark on the shoulder on his way out. "Well done."

We all stood for a moment longer before the Captain spoke up. "Three minutes. Get what you need."

Each person filed out, one after the other, separating to prepare themselves for the battle that was to come.

* * *

 **A/N:**

1) I'm glad to report that next chapter, we will _finally_ be able to get some more Pietro  & Maia loving. Yay for that!

2) As we grow ever closer to the Battle of Sokovia, I'm curious to know what you all think will happen during _that_ _one scene_. You all know what I'm talking about. I've had two or three people ask, but I'd like to know. What do you all think will happen when the time comes?


	15. Fourteen

_kravitsa: Russian for 'beautiful'_

* * *

 **Fourteen **

Thanks to the the fact that we all had gear in different rooms, I was finally alone with the twins in the room Stark had told us held equipment that we could use. As soon as the door was closed behind us, Wanda's arms were snaked tightly around my neck and I could feel her breath on the back of my neck as she clung to me. "I am so glad you are safe," she whispered, her quiet voice thick with emotion. "We should never have left you."

"I told you, sestreka," I chuckled. "I am capable of protecting myself. But I must admit that I greatly prefer your company to the Avengers."

She took a step back, her hands sliding down my arms until they held mine. "I agree. Regardless, during the battle to come, we must work as a team if we hope to destroy Ultron."

"So sensible," I teased, slipping one hand out of hers to ruffle her hair. She rolled her eyes, but her smile gave away her happiness as she walked away to change her clothes. There was no need for her to leave, but I was grateful that she was giving Pietro and I time alone. When she rounded the corner of the room, I turned to Pietro, who had yet to say a word. "Pietro?"

He sighed and ran one hand down his face, shaking his head as he stepped closer to me. My eyebrows furrowed together as he rested his head on mine, holding me tightly against him. "I am not leaving you ever again."

Although it had been for the best, and ultimately turned out well for all parties involved, I couldn't disagree with the fact that the twins and I were better together. My time without them had been nearly unbearable- I could barely even function. I did not look forward to ever being apart from them again. Because of this, I nodded against Pietro's chest. "I will hold you to that."

His hands moved up to my neck with his thumbs against my cheeks as he leaned down to look at me, his signature playful smirk gracing his face. I couldn't help but chuckle at his inability to stay serious for more than a minute, though my laughter was quickly cut off by him pressing his lips to mine in a clumsy kiss, both of us grinning.

Despite the fact that we were heading into a war against a seemingly unstoppable force, I felt nothing but glee in this moment. I was with my family- my sister and the love of my life. Pietro and I rarely expressed our feelings out loud, preferring to simply show each other how we felt, but for some reason, I could not resist telling him.

"I love you, lyubovka," I mumbled, rubbing my nose playfully against his. "I love you more than I could ever possibly say."

If at all possible, his smile grew even wider as he moved his lips against my forehead, cradling me to his chest. "And I love you, kravitsa."

I would have stayed in that blissful moment for all of eternity if at all possible, but the sound of Wanda's footsteps signaled her return. Pietro and I had no difficulty displaying our affection in front of her, but she was a reminder that the Avengers would come looking for us any minute. I pulled Pietro down to place a quick peck on his nose and pinch his cheek playfully before I stepped away.

He retaliated by tickling my side as I walked away, and we easily fell into our routine of pretending to be angry with each other and Wanda mumbling to herself about dealing with such children.

In the next two minutes, we had all exchanged our old outfits for battle ready gear and were ready to go. Wanda had changed into an easy to move in dress with a red jacket, knee high black socks and combat boots. Pietro wore black jeans with a silver athletic shirt and running shoes. I exchanged my old outfit for a gray quarter-sleeve shirt loosely tucked in to high-waisted jean shorts and black boots that resembled Wanda's.

Steve- as I finally learned the Captain's name was- was the one to come find us when our three minutes were up. He handed us all minuscule comm devices to wear in our ears so we would be able to communicate with everyone on the team, even when we were separated.

We walked to the jet in silence, our heads too full of guesses and predictions of what the battle would hold for us to speak. We were the last to board, the other Avengers already seated in their claimed seats with far away looks in their eyes. The twins and I sat on the left side, as close as possible without being on top of each other. The jet took off smoothly, flying us back to the place it all began.

"Ultron knows we're coming." Everyone in the jet snapped back to reality at Steve's words, and we focused on the only man left standing as he turned slowly, looking at each of us. "Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. That's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. We can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, we clear the field. Keep the fight between us."

Steve shifted his eyes to the floor, clenching his jaw tightly before finishing his speech. "Ultron think's we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

Silence once again fell over the group as the Captain sat in the last remaining seat, resting his elbows against his knees and sighing deeply. In the quiet, I took my first chance to analyze the Avengers as they truly were. Not as heroes or villains, allies or enemies, but simply as people. The longer I watched them, the more I found myself questioning why I hated them in the first place.

I thought they were fools, that they only got what they deserved. Nobody deserved the pain they all hid behind masks of courage.

I thought the world would be better without them. Without them, Ultron would have nothing standing in his way on his mission to destroy the world.

Mostly, I hated them because they allied with Stark. Looking at him now, watching him work and seeing his thought process unfold before my own eyes, I could understand that he only tried to do what he thought was best.

He was doing exactly what I believe I would have done in his situation. His family was threatened, and he went to any lengths to protect them. If I held the same power as him, I can only imagine that I would have acted no differently. Whether he was right or not was a different story, and I was in no way ready to forgive him for what happened to my family or the twins', but that didn't mean that I couldn't see what he had tried to do for the world, and for his friends.

I took each of the twins' hands in my own, squeezing them to reassure both them and myself that we were okay. Whatever today held for us, I knew two things were absolute. We would face the day together, and I would do everything within my power to keep them safe.

No matter the consequences.


	16. Fifteen

**Fifteen**

The second we landed, the plan was in effect. We all hurried out of the jet and separated, dispersing throughout the city to evacuate the citizens while Stark distracted Ultron. I wasn't completely comfortable leaving the twins again so soon after I had found them, but it meant saving more people faster, so I kept my mouth shut and ran into the nearest building.

I knew my people, and I knew they would not listen to talking. We were people of action- which is why I chose pulling alarms instead of speaking to them. When they ran out of the buildings, Wanda would be standing in the streets to guide them to safety.

This plan worked rather well for the first few minutes, with people leaving mostly of their own free will either on foot or packed into their cars. I had just finished clearing out an apartment complex when the Iron Legion started breaking their way into the crowds, the concrete of the streets crumbling around them as they clawed their way out of the earth below us. They soared overhead, attacking at random with explosions drowning out the terrified screams of civilians.

Breathing deeply, I tried to divide my energy as best I could between helping the people run faster and shutting the bots down. To my left I could see Wanda on the bridge with a crowd hiding behind her as she deflected the attacks being aimed at her with a wall of red energy. Resisting the urge to run to her side, I instead focused on the bots shooting at her. However, when one final blast finally broke through, knocking her to the ground, I could resist no longer and sprinted towards her.

"I'm fine," she insisted as I gripped her shoulders and pulled her back up. "Protect the people."

"I _am_ protecting the people." I held her chin in my hand, making her look me in the eyes. "I am protecting _my_ people. You are one of my people." She nodded, and I patted her cheek once before releasing her and backing away. "Stay safe!" I commanded before returning my attention to the robots in front of me.

One down, two down, three. Every time one of them went down, I took a second to breathe before attacking the next. But none of it seemed to make any difference. When one dropped, there was inevitably one more immediately behind it.

If I had known that one day I would be in a war against metal men, I would have trained more on manipulating machinery rather than men. This was no time for regrets, however. It was the time for action. So with every ounce of skill I could muster, I took the bots down one by one. Whenever I saw civilians running, I would send a bolt of adrenaline through them in hopes of giving them the extra push they needed to escape.

Then, something that I could never have imagined happened.

It started with the earth shaking. Soon after, the buildings themselves were shivering and falling apart. It became a challenge to simply stay on my feet when the shaking became violent rumbling, and the screaming grew ever louder. Fissures appeared out of nowhere with brick dust puffing out from the sidewalks, circling as far as I could see. Before I knew what was happening, the cracks that separated us grew even wider as the city began to lift into the air.

"Go!" I shouted, forgetting the enemy for the time being and forcing everything I had into every citizen I could find. "Get off before we are too high!"

I pushed people to safety until I could see nobody else. The thought occurred to me that I could jump as well, but the temptation was nonexistent. I could never leave my family behind. I am not sure if I could even in good conscience leave the Avengers behind.

With that thought, I turned my back on the edge of the now floating city and started running further into the chaos and unknowingly straight into a cluster of the Iron Legion. Too much of my energy had already been wasted on trying to save the people that the outline of their circuitry seemed to be behind a haze of mist as I searched for their weak spots.

It was all I could do to simply defend myself from their attacks by pushing their arms away from my direction before their attacks could land. The fight went like this for much too long in my opinion before, in an all too welcome blue blur, they were all in scattered pieces among the rubble of the crumbling city.

Pietro stood in front of me with a worried expression as I leaned my shoulder against the nearest building. I had never been very good with working my own nervous system, so I did what little I could do slow the buzzing I felt in my head from the exertion. I would most definitely feel it later, but for now later did not matter.

"You are pushing yourself too hard," Pietro scolded, though his hard words were counteracted by his fingers pressing gently against my temples, rolling in soothing circles. "You have allies here. Do not think you are alone in this fight."

"I know." I sighed and allowed myself just one more precious moment of Pietro's sympathy before I removed his hands from my head and ignored his scolding by looking past his exterior and into his nervous system. He hadn't been injured, but I also knew that his speed put pressure on his legs when he didn't take breaks in between sprints. "But I will not let the fact that I am not alone in this fight stop me from giving this fight everything I have."

I proved my point by relaxing the muscles of his legs to give him some form of relief. He noticed immediately and sighed, though I was somewhat unsure if it was from the relief or because I had ignored him. Most likely both.

"You will be the death of me one day," he warned with a grin to accompany his mocking words.

I shook my head with a matching smile, shoving his shoulder. "Go. I'm fine, I simply needed a moment. I can handle this."

"I know you can." He leaned in to peck my cheek before dashing off, leaving me amidst the ruin.

Once he was gone, I closed my eyes and rested my full back against the wall, tangling my fingers in my hair and squeezing my head. Pietro was half-right, though his words had been meant as a joke. I might very well be the death of someone, though it would not be him.

As long as I make it to the end of the battle, everything will be all right.

"Isn't it beautiful? The inevitability. You rise... only to _fall_. You, Avengers, _you_ are my meteor. My swift, terrible sword, and the earth crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world... will be metal."

I have to believe it will be all right.


	17. Sixteen

**Sixteen**

The higher we got, the more panicked the masses became. It had been difficult enough before to keep them running while fighting at the same time, but now it was simply impossible. I tried everything ranging from pushing them to safety to trying to relax their minds and bodies, but eventually I was forced to accept the fact that there was nothing more I could do for them other than fight.

After I finished calming the minds of the last couple of people I'd run across, I put my plan into action by running in the opposite direction of any citizens I crossed. Perhaps if I could just keep the fight focused on me, the bots would leave them be.

The longer I fought, the more I felt like I was going to black out at any moment. It was a strange feeling that I had only encountered when I had practiced expanding my powers back in Strucker's lab. I wasn't physically tired, but mentally drained. Despite this, I encouraged myself by telling myself over and over that every enemy down was one more Sokovian saved.

After taking out another group of four bots, I took another moment to breathe and survey my surroundings. The comm in my ear that I hadn't been using at all until now crackled slightly, followed by Steve's voice.

"Stark, you focus on bringing this city down safely. The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed... walk it off."

I rolled my eyes, groaning at the Captain's optimism- though I was secretly grateful for his words. They didn't mean much literally, but the reminder that there were eight other people out there going through the same difficulties I was facing did actually help me to clear my head and jump back into the fray.

The next group of people I encountered were very much the same in the sense that they were running and screaming, but the fact that they were running not from Ultron but from the Hulk was the one main difference. It seems Bruce decided to join us after all.

When the Hulk finished smashing one robot by using another as a bat, he turned to me with a loud grunt. Not knowing how else to react, I put on the best smile I could muster and nodded once. "Uh, hello."

His only response was to grunt again before running away and crouching down before leaping high into the air, too far away for me to see any longer. With a sigh of relief that he wasn't angry at me for controlling him back in the lab- at least not angry enough to kill me- I continued on my way towards the center of the city.

"All right, we're all clear here," Clint said over the comms, shortly followed by Steve vehemently disagreeing.

"We are _not_ clear! We are _very_ not clear!"

"All right, coming to you."

That last sentence sounded much closer than the last, and I rounded the corner of a destroyed alleyway to see the archer standing next to Wanda for only a second before she disappeared in a blur with Pietro's laughter bouncing off the brick walls. "Keep up old man!"

Clint shook his head as he notched an arrow, and I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to notice me watching him while he mumbled. "Nobody would know. Nobody..." In shaking his head, he saw me from the corner of his eye and sighed, loosing the arrow before restashing it in his quiver when I raised an eyebrow at him.

He started to jog after Pietro, and I rolled my eyes before joining him. "You are not alone," I chuckled as we made our way deeper into the city. "We all want to kill him sometimes."

Clint shrugged with a small grin before his face lit up and it changed into a smirk. "Where's the kid? Oh, last we saw him Ultron was sitting on him. Shame, really. He'll be missed, the quick little bastard. I miss him already!"

I pursed my lips and shoved his shoulder, but he only chuckled and shrugged again. It felt nice to be able to joke even in such dire times, but unfortunately we couldn't make light of the situation forever. When we finally made our way out of the elaborate alleyways and back into the street, the smiles dropped from our faces and were replaced by determination.

The people had thankfully dispersed for the most part, and we could see Steve, Natasha, Pietro and Wanda all fighting as a team against the congregating Iron Legion. Pietro sprinted in circles, ripping the bots to pieces. Wanda's hands were flowing with red energy gathering in wisps around them. Steve tossed his shield to Natasha, who used it to knock the head off of one bot.

There was a mother with her two children cowering at the horrors surrounding her, and I nudged Clint to draw his attention to them as I refocused on seeing the inner workings of our enemy. He understood my meaning without words and ran towards them, shooting an arrow through one's back as I caused the second to malfunction and drop to the ground. Clint wrapped his arm around the mother's shoulders and consoled her as he walked the family into a safe building.

When we were clear of the robots for the time being, the twins, Steve and Natasha all followed behind Clint and I. "The second wave's gonna hit any minute," Steve warned. "What do you got, Stark?"

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."

Steve sighed, and nobody could blame him for his reluctance. I did not want to see anything happen to my home, my family, or the Avengers. But Ultron had taken that option from us, and now we were being forced to choose.

Wanda looked to me with misery in her eyes, and I knew that she was feeling the same pain. In a weak attempt of comfort, I placed my hand on her cheek and brushed my thumb under her eye before nodding my head towards the people inside the building. She understood immediately and nodded against my palm before turning to help them.

I backed away towards where Steve and Natasha were standing, waiting for the Captain to make the decision. Pietro stood on my left, and he took my hand as we watched the two Avengers.

"Cap, these people aren't going anywhere," Natasha sighed. "Stark finds a way to blow this rock-"

"Not until everyone is safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" She shook her head with knit eyebrows. "There's no math there."

"We're not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"I didn't say we should leave." Steve finally looked to her and she nodded with a shrug, looking out past the edge of the city. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff," a voice I didn't recognize crackled through comms, and Pietro and I turned to each other with mutual confusion. "It's about to get better."

Through the clouds came what I could only describe as a floating ship, leveling itself with the height of the city. Pietro laced his fingers through mine and- for once- ran with me at a normal speed towards the broken bridge past demolised concrete and cars to see the ship up close.

"Nice, eh?" the same unfamiliar voice chuckled. "Cleaned a couple moth balls with some of our old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch."

"Ooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Steve and Natasha walked up behind Pietro and I to join us in watching smaller ships fly out and away from the larger one, sliding in side by side with the city. Pietro squeezed my hand again with a sigh of amazement at the sight before us. "This is SHIELD?"

"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be."

I smiled and turned to watch Pietro with a smile that he shared as he glanced back at the Captain before meeting my gaze. "This is not so bad."


	18. Seventeen

**Seventeen**

"Let's load 'em up!"

At Steve's command, we all sprung back into action with renewed hopes. There were buildings full of panicked people that we were going to have to empty into these boats, and the plan was to get them all to safety before Ultron could regroup his forces and hurt them any more than he already had.

We separated once more in order to accomplish this goal as quickly as possible, each of us taking a separate building. I ran into a nearby grocery store, and judging by the small shrieks when I burst through the door these people were beyond terrified- reasonably, of course. In a show of good faith, I held my hands out and stood completely still.

Once they saw that I was human and not trying to hurt them, I motioned towards the doors I'd come through. "We are getting you out of here," I explained. "Follow me, quickly."

Without waiting for a response, I hurried back outside and jogged towards the nearest boat. I checked back over my shoulder every once in a while, assuring that everybody was still following. When we reached the boat, I grabbed an agent wearing an orange vest and nodded towards the civilians.

"There are perhaps 50 coming out of that store, and I expect even more to follow. Make sure they are all seated and safe."

"Gotcha," the agent nodded before taking over my job of directing the people.

Convinced that he was capable of caring after them, I moved on to the next building. I was halfway through emptying it, counting heads as they ran out the door when Stark's voice came through my comms yet again, though he sounded much less despaired this time.

"Avengers, it's time to work for a living."

I finished off the building I was on before assigning yet another agent to finish my job for me so that I could run to our next project. While SHIELD took care of the civilians, it was our job to keep Ultron's focus on us.

When I reached the church in the center of the city where I'd first met Ultron, I could see that Thor, Stark and the Vision were already there. I immediately set to work, powering down the robot Thor had been fighting before he had the chance to kill it. When he turned to face me I simply smirked and joined them on the platform, turning to face the oncoming reinforcements.

Pietro was the next to arrive, slicing through two of the bots on his way in. Steve's shield appeared before he did, decapitating yet another. Clint walked in with Wanda at his side, and Pietro and I were at her side to check in with each other before the real fight began.

"You good?" Pietro asked, gripping her upper arm as he inspected her.

She placed her own hand on his stomach and nodded. "Yeah. You two?"

I ruffled Wanda's hair with a grin. "What, you doubt our ability to protect ourselves? I am shocked, Sestreka!"

Her only retort was to roll her eyes with a smirk before the three of us joined the Avengers, circling around the vibranium key.

"Romanoff," Stark drawled as the circles on his hands lit up. "You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini."

"Relax, Shellhead. Not all of us can fly." Natasha arrived shortly after her statement, running in next to Stark and surveying the area. "What's the drill?"

" _This_ is the drill." Stark pointed towards the vibranium we were all gathered around. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

The Hulk was the final missing member to arrive, and he stalked in only seconds before Ultron lowered himself from the sky in front of us, hovering as he tilted his head. Thor stepped in front of the rest of us, gripping his hammer tightly as he held his arms out and shouted. "Is that the best you can do?"

Ultron lifted one hand, and _hundreds_ of the Iron Legion appeared from every possible crevice within eyesight. They came from the sky, the ground, behind and inside of buildings. All headed for us. Steve sighed with a little head drop before he turned to Thor with a withering look.

"You had to ask."

" _This_ is the best I can do. This is _exactly_ what I wanted- all of _you_ , against all of _me_. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said" Stark shrugged inside of his suit, glancing at Steve before he turned to Ultron. "Together."

The Hulk let out a roar, signaling the beginning of the final battle.

They came from every direction, scrambling over the rubble of the city like roaches and into the church. Circled around the drill, determined to win and prepared to give them our worst, we did just that.

Scraps of metal flew around us as we took them out one by one. Stark shot them down with lasers, Steve broke them to bits with his shield, Thor smacked them down with his hammer, Natasha twisted and zapped them, Clint's arrows whizzed overhead, the Hulk smashed them to pieces, the Vision flew over us to keep them away from the top, Pietro was invisible as he confused them all long enough for Wanda to rip them apart, and I crossed their wires until they were malfunctioning and knocking into each other.

We were an unstoppable force in constant motion. Even when he could see that he was failing and Ultron himself soared into the midst of the battle, he was thrown through the roof back outside by the Vision. Stark and Thor ran outside to help him, leaving the rest of us to cover their abandoned spots with the remaining Legionnaires.

Once Ultron was sent flying by the Hulk, the robots scattered in a vain attempt to escape. "They're trying to leave the city!"

"We can't let them," Stark answered Thor. "Not even one. Rhodey!"

"On it."

Steve picked up his shield and gathered around the rest of us, doing a quick head count before giving his orders. "We gotta move out, even I can tell the air's getting thin. You guys get to the boats," he nodded towards Clint and Natasha. "Maia, you get to the injured- keep them calm and out of pain. I'll sweep for stragglers and be right behind you."

"What about the core?"

"I'll protect it." We all turned to face Wanda when she unexpectedly answered Clint's question, volunteering to stay behind. "It's my job," she said specifically to the archer. I didn't know what they had discussed previously, but if it meant leaving a part of my family behind, I was completely against it.

The three Avengers ran in opposite directions, and before I had the chance to ask Wanda if she was insane, Pietro showed back up from wherever he had run off to. She looked at the both of us, standing in front of the core with her hands out by her sides and ready to defend it. "Get the people on the boats."

"We are not going to leave you here," Pietro immediately disagreed, shaking his head.

"We are not separating again," I tacked on for good measure.

"We were all fine then, we will all be fine now. I can handle these." As if the universe was trying to prove her point, a straggler from the attack flew in but was demolished in seconds with Wanda's magic. "Come back for me when everyone else if off, not before." Pietro clenched his jaw and shook his head, marching off in a huff. "You understand?"

Pietro turned back to face her, and though I knew he was just as unhappy with the arrangement as I was, he made the effort to smirk at her. "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

"Go," she chuckled shortly. Pietro held his hands up in surrender and glanced back at me. I shook my head and he sighed- another one of our silent coversations- before jetting off to evacuate the remaining citizens. "I told you, Maia, I can handle this."

"I know you can," I agreed. "I am simply reserving my right to warn you that if you get hurt, I _will_ yell at you."

" _Go_ ," she stressed, waving me away from the church.

"Yes, ma'am." I mock saluted and turned my back on her, ignoring the feeling in my gut that the possibilty of everything going wrong just seemed to increase substantially.


	19. Eighteen

**Eighteen**

When I arrived at the boat full of those who had been injured during the fight, I was disheartened to see so many people. Crying, holding each other, asking if anybody had seen their missing loved ones. I took a breath before holding my hands out, palms forward as my eyes swept over them all. I focused on the ones with the more critical injuries first, draining their pain down to bearable levels.

There were too many people, unfortunately, for me to keep them all in a constant state of comfort, so I switched back and forth between giving people small reliefs and trying to keep those who had been severely hurt calm enough for the medics to work on them.

One such person had been shot in the shoulder with one of the Iron Legion's energy blasts. He had been sobbing when I spotted him, crying out whenever a doctor tried to help him. His nerves had bundled into the affected area and were whizzing in dizzying patterns, screeching at his brain in a constant reminder that he was feeling pain.

I had never tried to help somebody like this before, but I was not going to simply ignore his pain, so I did the first thing I could think of. I froze the bundle of nerves so they could no longer send signals of distress. Then, slowly, I untangled the intricate web they had formed. It took much longer than the usual injuries, but eventually I was able to at least give him relief long enough for them to make sure the wound would heal.

Just when I would help one person, Steve would come forward with two more he had rescued from somewhere within the city. We glanced at each other every time he passed by, and every time we shared the same look of regret- regret that we could not save everyone. It was an unreasonable goal, but one that I am sure we had all hoped we would be able to achieve despite the odds.

Despite the dismal circumstances, I found a small amount of solace by seeing my allies continuing to help my people. Stark and his friend Rhodey were soaring through the skies, blasting down the last of the Iron Legion. Steve was helping the last few struggling Sokovians onto whatever boats had the room to hold them. Pietro was practically flying as he checked with every SHIELD agent standing guard, telling them when to wait and when to go.

Clint and Natasha joined us, driving up in a borrowed car before jumping out and double-checking the boats we'd already scoured. They spoke with each other for a moment before Natasha boarded one boat and Clint stepped on to join her. Something changed his mind however, and after only a second of standing there he stepped off and began surveying the area.

I watched as he ran towards a pile of rubble, confused as to why he was concerned over seemingly nothing. The others must have had the same idea, because Steve and Thor joined me in watching him. When he lifted a small boy out of the wreckage however, we all understood.

Just as I was going to turn back and refocus my attention on the people of the boat, I was stopped by a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. Out of nowhere, I had the sudden urge to vomit as my chest grew increasingly tight. I searched my surroundings, confused as to why everything seemed so suddenly _wrong_.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as I saw the jet flying overhead, its machine guns on full blast and razing the ground. Dust swirled up in the air, clouding Steve and Thor from my vision as they ran towards cover. My hands were already reaching out of their own accord when I saw that the hailstorm of bullets was headed straight for Clint with the small boy still clutching to his chest, unaware that the situation was about to become so very much worse.

On my right, Pietro had been standing next to one of the boats. _Had been_. At the same lightning speed that I had reacted with, Pietro started running towards them.

A million thoughts whizzed through my head. _I am not leaving you ever again. He'll be missed, the quick little bastard. There's worse ways to go. We were all fine then, we will all be fine now. We're gonna have to make a choice. All is well._

It was not even a choice. It was an automatic reaction, an instinct. _Protect him._

The headache that had started earlier in the battle began throbbing again as I moved faster than I ever had before, controlling everything I could set my eyes on to reduce the damage. My first priority was Pietro. Just as the bullets reached him, I pushed him further than he had intended to run until he was a safe distance away from the attack and swept his legs out from under him. At the same time, I was keeping Clint's arms locked around the boy and pushing him behind a turned over car that would shield them from the bullets.

Finally, with the last bit of energy I had, I tuned all of it into the palms of my hands as I turned the guns on the jet away from the ground and into the sky. The barrage of bullets ripped through the escaping Iron Legion, turning them into nothing more than falling bits of scrap metal.

An eerie silence fell over the entire city as everyone tried to absorb what had just happened. Everyone except for myself. Blackness crept in at the edge of my vision, and before I realized what was happening everything appeared sideways.

The sound of people in motion returned, though it all sounded murky as my vision grew ever darker. Every part of me felt absolutely drained. I didn't even have the energy to lift a finger as somebody picked me up. They were asking me questions, I think, but even if I could hear what they were saying the only response I might have been able to make was a quiet groan.

The last thing I registered before the darkness overtook me was a warm hand on my cheek, and a soft pressure on my forehead.


	20. Nineteen

**Nineteen**

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room with dark grey walls and crisp white furniture. My body still felt unnaturally heavy, but I was glad to find that at least my head felt much more clear than it had in Sokovia. That small happiness was soon overtaken by a wave of pure joy when I saw that I was not alone in the room. Sitting in a plush chair on my left was the exact person I wanted to see.

Pietro, alive and smiling. "Good morning, kravitsa." He ran his hand over my forehead, brushing back my hair before resting his hand between my head and the pillow with his thumb stroking my cheek. "Feeling better?"

"You're okay," I answered. It was true- had I not been able to protect him... I didn't even want to imagine that kind of pain. I wanted so badly to be angry with him for putting himself in that position- for putting Wanda and I in that position- but the fact that he had done it to save Clint and a child seemed justifiable. "You are very lucky that I was there."

He raised an eyebrow, his grin shifting into a smirk. "How humble of you to point that out." I narrowed my eyes at him, even though I knew he was joking. He knew that I wasn't boasting. I was scolding.

"Your life is not a joke to me, lyubovka."

"I know." He schooled his features back into a little smile. "Thank you."

With that out of the way, there were still two people in particular I wanted to check on. "Where are the others?"

It was only there for an instant, but I still caught the little flicker in his eyes that told me I might not like the answer. "Scattered," he replied vaguely. Thanks to our many years of silent communication, he knew instantly that I wasn't going to accept that as an answer and elaborated. "Most of them are still here, for the moment. The doctor, Banner... he disappeared after the fight. Nobody knows where he's gone. The rest of us are still here, though only Steve, Natasha and the Vision plan on staying. Thor will be returning home in a few days, and after that Stark and Clint will also be leaving."

The end of his last sentence answered my question about one of the people I had been worried about. Although I had done my best to protect him as well as Pietro, I had worried that I might not have helped him in time. The fact that he was up and moving around mollified that worry, though I had to admit that I did not look forward to him leaving. Out of all of the Avengers, I had spent the most time with the archer- be it as an enemy or otherwise- and from the very beginning I had liked his spirit. He would be the person I would most regret parting with.

As for the disappearance of Bruce... I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. While I was sure that he was a good man, my only experiences with him had been bad ones. I doubted I would miss him much, but his departure brought me no gladness either.

The same could be said for Stark and Thor. I doubted I could ever fully forgive Stark for the destruction of my family and home, he had proved himself to be a useful and trustworthy ally, and for that I would no longer hate him. Thor, I'd had no experience with him other than in battle- both with and against. His presence was neither positive nor negative as of now.

For Natasha, I was willing to admit that I was glad she would be staying. We'd only had one conversation, but by the end of it she was willing to sacrifice herself to save me. If nothing else, I was sure that she would at least prove a valuable ally.

Steve and the Vision would both be staying, which I could at least appreciate. They seemed similar in the fact that they both wanted whatever was best for the world, though the Vision seemed to lean more towards what was best for the majority rather than the actual people. Regardless, I did look forward to learning more about the both of them.

With all of the Avengers checked off my mental list, I still had yet to hear news of the other person I worried for. "Where is Wanda?"

"With the other Avengers," he chuckled. "She has always been one to make friends easily, and they have introduced us to two more of their friends. One was in the battle at Sokovia- Rhodey, Stark called him, though his name is James Rhodes. The other is a friend of the Captain's, Sam Wilson."

I nodded at his response before taking a breath and pushing myself up into a sitting position. He helped me by placing his hands on my back to support my weight and moving them into my own to pull me off the bed. Once I was standing, he kept one hand in mine and led me out of the room.

We walked through various hallways of what Pietro told me was the brand new Avengers Facility, with him pointing out where all the different rooms were along the way. He also explained that I had been asleep for almost a full 24 hours.

"Dr. Cho, the woman from the lab in Seoul, she checked on you as soon as we landed here. Everyone was very worried for you," he teased. "You are just fine. She said that you had simply over-exerted yourself. I seem to have forgotten, but didn't somebody warn you of that during the fight?"

I didn't bother responding to his joke, allowing my 'really?' look to tell him everything. It was true that I had never worked so hard in my life, not even when I was still being trained by Strucker and his scientists. During the battle I had been manipulating not only several robots at once, but also multiple citizens and my own teammates. The panic of seeing Pietro and Clint both on the brink of death had caused me to fly over the edge. It was a relief to learn that it would not leave any lasting effects.

We finally arrived at a large, brightly decorated living area that I took a moment to look over. The walls were all painted white, except the left wall which was one large window. A small kitchenette area with a bar was tucked away in the back left corner, and three large couches surrounded a flat plasma screen.

Sitting on those couches were a few friendly faces that smiled at me and Pietro as we walked into the room. Wanda was the first on her feet, rushing over and pulling me into a vice-tight hug. Behind her stood Steve, Clint, and Natasha, all watching our reunion with little happy grins.

"Don't ever worry me like that again," Wanda scolded, pulling back with her hands on my shoulders.

"Of course not, sestreka." I pulled her into another hug, taking a few seconds to simply enjoy being in her presence once again, before separating from her and looking to the three Avengers in the room.

Clint was the first to walk forward, reminding me of myself when he ruffled my hair. "You did good, kid."

"He means thank you," Natasha smirked. Clint snorted, neither confirming nor denying that that was what he had meant by the action.

Steve stayed where he was, but crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm pretty sure we know the answer, considering that these two have already accepted," he motioned slightly towards the twins before returning his attention to me. "But I'd still like to officially inform you of your new position."

He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, holding one hand out to me. "Welcome to the Avengers."

* * *

 **IMPORTANT MESSAGE!**

I would just like to inform you all that I planned from the very beginning to kill Pietro off. It wasn't until the very last moment, while I was writing Chapter 18 that I decided to let him live. I've fallen in love with Maia, and on top of that your reactions were just too intimidating! I couldn't bring myself to write it in the end.

This, however, means that I have not planned ahead for the rest of this story. If you'd like it to continue from here, _please_ let me know. I would be perfectly comfortable with taking this story in a few different directions, so let me know which one you'd like to see happen:

1) Leave the story here

2) Leave the story here, write a sequel for Civil War

3) Write a few more summary chapters of what happens overall

4) Continue the story for as long as I have the inspiration to continue

Leave me either a review or send me a PM telling me which one (or combination of a few) you would like to see happen.

Thank you! :)


	21. Moving Forward

After many, many suggestions, I've decided to end Deliver Us here.

However! If you were one of the people who suggested I continue writing, don't worry just yet.

I will be posting **a sequel of one-shots** that will detail the time spent around Avengers Facility. There will be bonding with the Avengers, fun times with the twins, traveling outside of the Facility, and - of course - Pietro/Maia lovey dovey times.

I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update it, but I assure you it will be as often as possible.

After that, **I do plan on continuing Maia's story into Civil War**. Because of the differences with Pietro between my story and how they deal with his situation in Civil War, there may be slight changes to the story. I'll have to see the movie before I could tell you anything definitive.

So! I'll post another chapter later on when I post the sequel, and eventually a Civil War sequel.

Thank you _so much_ for reading/reviewing this story. It's my most successful story to date, and I've loved the interaction and reactions to it. I hope all of you will enjoy the sequel just as much. :)


	22. We Belong

**Attention Readers!**

I have just posted **We Belong** , which is the sequel to **Deliver Us**.

It can be found on my page. :)


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